Soul out loud. That is how she sounds. Oh, for the love of soul, and for that same love of the play with the subtleties of the beat; cooly add on top of that an offering of lyrical melody from her sax and voice, both with the clarity of intentioned singing and messaging.
Vanity Fair magazine includes her as one of the millennials shaking jazz up, and Billboard magazine spoke of her, in an article about her work with Jon Batiste, as one who is making jazz young. The energy of those sentiments is pure excitement. A purity of newness built, as if on fire, on the foundations of the established and traditioned. A freshness that, while stretching and reaching forward, is well-bridged to all that was before.
These words about Kelly from Jimmy Heath attest to this: “The future of our music is in good hands.” Kelly plays without trepidation. It is as if the light has always been on, meaning there has never been any darkness in the hallway. That light starts from where she is, where the music has been, and wherever she wants to take it. Soul out loud is how she sounds. Her voice is bold with the clarity of intent.
