CD Review: Sara Colman - What We're Made of.

(Review by Ann Alex).

I’m so pleased about our award, lots of credit to Lance our Leader, but BSH must go on, so here goes, I’m behind with CDs. And the reason for tardiness is because of the particular problems with albums of original material, such as this one, which gives us 9 new songs and 2 well-known ones. Joni Mitchell’s All I Want has a lively guitar, with Rhodes and guitar solos, and effective scat singing towards a fade out. Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years is a fitting final track, with voice, piano and backing vocals.

 On first listening to the rest, rather philosophical songs about such subjects as waking to a new day, environmental issues, a message to a daughter and all women, and love songs, I found the music enjoyable but not earth-shatteringly so. Yet on listening a week later to some tracks, it all sounded so much more interesting. Original tracks need time to settle, that’s the message. Who knows what the future standards will be?

The instrumentalists do their stuff well, for instance, the cello enhances It Begins, (the daybreak song) beautifully. Ms Colman’s voice has a pleasing nasal quality, and she gives the soloists room to show what they can do. On Strange Meeting the trumpet and guitar play around each other neatly; Trouble Out There, concerning the environment, has a fast and frenetic guitar, suiting the subject. 

Echoes commemorates the death of a friend and the building where they used to meet, and it features piano and heartfelt singing. The lyrics of the songs are contemplative rather than containing hooks, but the listener is still able to be drawn in. Other song titles are: What We’re Made Of; Heartsafe; Open; Be Careful; Dreamer.

Sara Colman hails from Bristol, and she has worked with Laura Mvula and Liane Carroll during the past year. She has performed at Manchester Jazz Festival and will be doing an album tour next Spring.

Ann Alex 

The CD was released on Stoney Lane Records on Sept. 28, catalogue # SLR1968.

Sara Colman (vocals, composer); Rebecca  Nash (piano, Rhodes); Ben Markland (bass, bass guitar); Steve Banks (guitars); Adriano Adewale (perc); Jules Jackson (bass); Jonathan Silk (drums); Percy Pursglove (trumpet, flugel); Emila Martensson, Anthony Marsden, Nick Dover (backing vocals); Carducci Quartet (strings)