Lauren Desberg (vcl); Walter Smith 111 (ten); Taylor Eigsti (pno); Chris Smith (bs); Corey Fonville (dms); Drew ofthe Drew (sound etc.)
(Review by Lance).
I'll let Ms Desberg tell it from her point of view:
"Jazz was the music of the people from the 20’s-40’s but the sound is so far removed from people today - I wanted to update the music in a way that today’s listener could understand. Jazz for the 21st century, just like an iphone app, everything needs to be updated.
I grew up listening to and loving jazz and popular music. Not gonna lie, my heart belongs to 90’s groups - but my love for them is just as strong as it is for Sarah Vaughan and Anita O’Day."
The lady can sing, no doubt about it. Whether she has "updated" the music in the manner intended is open to debate and, personally, my preference is for those tracks where the updating is kept to a minimum.
Walter Smith 111 doesn't seem to be too involved in the move to the millennium, his solos are as solid as any from an earlier era and worth the price of the disc alone. On Lullaby of the Leaves there's some fine wailing trumpet behind the vocal but no one is credited on the sleeve. So, is it a trumpet or is it some electronic wizardry from the strangely named Drew ofthe Drew who is mainly responsible, I guess, for the updating effects Ms Desberg incorporates into her quest for advancement.
An interesting experiment by an accomplished and creative singer.
Lance.
Lauren Desberg - Twenty First Century Problems is available from April 28. Sample.
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