Rani Singam is a famous vocalist in Asia and one of the most respected jazz singers. Her first album which was recorded in Los Angeles with Jeremy Monteiro as the producer is found in many places in the US and Asia. According to the US Jazz Newsletter of 2008, the album scored 4|4.
The recording of her second album entitled ‘Contentment’ took place in 2011 at Bennett studios in the US. The question that arises is whether this album is a new approach to jazz vocals. Definitely, it is an album that portrays her skills in song writing and the ability to compose original songs.
This article reviews ‘Contentment’ which is the latest album to be performed by Rani Singam. The performance remained one of the greatest highlights of the singer and her fans.
In her own words, Rani described contentment as one of the albums that was driven by her desire to become a singer. On 16th November 2011, she held a performance at Esplanade Recital Studio which was aimed at promoting the album. The fans treated the concert like early Christmas for them. The show was attended by more than 160 fans including her son and husband.
As Rani made her way to the stage, it was evident that the fans were filled with enthusiasm about her performance due to the anxiety they portrayed. They applauded and shouted jovially as she took the stage. On stage, she was accompanied by Chok Kerong playing piano, Christy Smith playing the bass, Greg Lyons on saxophone while the drums were played by Soh Wenming.
She took a period of one hour and 15 minutes as she performed a set of 10 songs from her second album contentment. When she started the performance, she demonstrated her unique capabilities in music and performance by creating a compelling musical atmosphere. Her performance quickly convinced the audience that the music was her own composition.
During the performance, she maintained an entertaining rhythm with each of the movements she made during the performance leaving the audience thrilled. She made the performance lively through constant physical movement on the stage as the audience clapped and cheered.
In composing the lyrics in the new album, Rani portrayed great effort as she did while doing live performances. All the ten songs in the album were created with the support of her musical partners. Blended with classical sounds, the lyrics were quite simple but undoubtedly touching.
Rani connected well with the audience through her stories in the songs and this created unforgettable memories of the performance in the minds of the fans. For instance the song ‘My Muse’ talked about her first crush in school while ‘Day Break’ was a story about her endearing memories in Switzerland.
As the concert approached its end, it reached its highest point as the crowd applauded Ran’s performance and requested for more songs. It was amazing that Rani managed such a performance considering that her earlier ambition was to become a lawyer. She changed her mind and decided to get into jazz music after attending Raffle Girl’s school. It was incredible that she had been a vocalist/composer of jazz music for only 10 years.
When the show ended, Rani Singam gave her fans a chance to sign on a table outside the studio. There was a long queue of people who wanted to meet her and talk to her. She embraced the love showed by her fans by smiling to them and initiating conversations with them. It was a good concert since all the fans left satisfied and hoped to attend her concerts once more.