The two faces of Jenny

May 27, 2008

Is there such a thing as too much Jenny Scheinman? After listening to her two new albums, the answer would have to be no.

Cutting a wide swath across the New York jazz scene since the late 1990s, the violinist has collaborated with an extraordinary menagerie of artists, from crafting arrangements for Lou Reed, Bono, and Lucinda Williams to accompanying Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, and Marc Ribot. Her simultaneous release of divergent sessions offers several vivid views into her polymorphously creative world.

Scheinman's self-named vocal debut takes her back to her rural Northern California roots, where she grew up playing folk music with her family. It's a quietly enthralling album alternating harrowing tunes by Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, and Jimmy Reed with Scheinman's equally plaintive originals. Her voice is as clear and expressive as her masterly bowing, and she brings a bracing honesty to the material, which was produced and recorded by Tony Scherr, who provides expert support on guitar, bass, and vocals.

As an improviser and composer, Scheinman offers "Crossing the Field," a digital and vinyl release (it's out on CD in the fall) that's even more melodically rewarding than her highly praised 2005 album, "12 Songs." Featuring a string orchestra led by Brooklyn Rider, guitarist Bill Frisell, and pianist Jason Moran, who responds to Scheinman's tunes with his most unabashedly lyrical playing, the album is a picaresque journey that moves gracefully from carnivalesque capers to Malian pastorals to cinematic elegies.

Taken together, Scheinman's albums only whet the appetite for more delectable selections. [Andrew Gilbert]

Jenny Scheinman plays at the Museum of Fine Arts June 7.