Ana Velinova
(vocals); Misha Platigorsky (keys, melodica); Neil Swainson (bass); Willard Dyson
(drums, percussion); Gordon Clements (reeds); Joby Baker (bass on 1 track); Various
(brass, clarinet, backing vocals).
(Review
by Ann Alex).
Ana Velinova hails from Bulgaria and has worked and performed in major USA Bulgaria ,
major Canadian and USA
The variety of material
comes from the originality of the self-composed songs, eg ‘Why should I sleep
when I often get visits, from magical creatures that dance on my eyelids’.
These particular words are accompanied by clever melodica playing, giving a
touch of magic. There are love songs; a
song which is a tribute to someone called Elis Regina; Mystic In My Soul which is a version of Gypsy In My Soul; a Bulgarian Folk song Nani Mi Damiancho, which is true to the original yet with jazz
elements; Cool, which manages to be
just that, very sophisticated; and the title song which concludes the album,
all about stealing parts of nature, eg ‘I stole a secret from a shell, sleeping
gently on a rock.’ All sung in a
beautifully flexible voice, sweet for love songs but edgier for the more
jazz-like numbers, and with the occasional burst of wordless singing which is
not quite scat. The band is well up to
the job and they get opportunities to solo, notably on Cool and a drum solo on Mystic
In My Soul. This is a band which also knows when to hold back, as in I Want You, a song of longing, with discreetly
sparse accompaniment with only the keys being expansive.
‘The
Thief’ was issued on the Ward
Street
Ann
Alex.
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