(By Ann Alex)
Sinne Eeg is a bona
fide jazz singer in her native Denmark and has also performed throughout Europe
and the USA. This, her ninth album, shows her to be a talented singer with a
darkish alluring voice and an inherent sense of swing. Her self-titled, 2003
debut album, preceded more critically acclaimed work in 2007 and 2008.
Eeg’s style
and tone reminds me of our own Ruth Lambert, which shows how lucky we are to
have such good women singers on our doorstep. Four standards, a tune from a
Danish film, and five tracks where Ms Eeg is the composer and/or lyricist offer
an appealing and varied approach.
We
are straight in with the title track, a fast snappy love song, a tenor solo,
and a neat duet of call and response between piano and voice. The other
originals are, Like A Song, a slower jazz waltz with a prominent
bass contribution; Those Ordinary Things, a touching love song
about how the lover misses the ordinary things when her partner has left
her; Samba em Comum has both Portuguese and English lyrics,
fine guitar and lively clonky-sounding percussion. The CD is skilfully rounded
off with an uplifting gospel-tinged song of hope and optimism, To a New
Day, which includes a skilled trumpet solo.
Two of the
standards are new to me. We have Talking To Myself - a snappy song with walking
bass accompaniment - Detour Ahead, with a virtuosic flute solo from
Nicolai Schultz and Comes Love, a real swinger with scat. I have
problems with My Favorite Things. I
don't know how it entered the jazz repertoire with those irritating words,
something to do with Coltrane I guess. Thank goodness that Ms Eeg's performance
with the band just about saves the song, with a spirited rendering of the part
about the dog biting, a fast bass line and a drum solo. The Danish film tune is
Hvorfor Er Lykken Sa Lunefuld, a slinky swing on the theme of the
brevity of joy, sung in Danish.
The band themselves
do a more than competent job with many short solos from the horns. Several of
the tracks begin with bass and light drum accompaniment, with the band joining
the mix on the second chorus. The bass playing is, not only interesting, but
also exceptional.
I must confess to a
prejudice towards this album in view of my Danish ancestry (Danish great
grandfather) so I have taken delight in listing the names of the band, trying
to convince myself that I speak the language, which I don't.
Ann Alex
The CD was
available to the world from February 21. See www.sinnemusic.com
Sinne Eeg (vocals/composer/arranger); Nikolai Bogelund (conductor) Dave
Vreuls, Thomas Kjaergaard, Mads la Cour, Gerard Presencer, Lars Vissing (trumpets); Peter Dahlgren,
Vincent Nilsson, Kevin Christensen, Annette Saxe, Jakob Munck (trombones); Peter Fuglsang, Nicolai Schultz, Hans
Ulrik, Anders Banke, Frederick Menzies, Anders Gaardmand, Jan Harbeck (saxes); Henrik
Gunde (piano); Per Gade (guitar); Kaspar Vadsholt (bass); Seren Frost (drums).
Guest Musicians on 1 track: Rune
Harder Olesen, Luis Conte (percussion); Sille Gronberg, Birgitte Soojin, Ninna
Milner-Juel, Maja Hanghoj, Alice Carreri (backing vocals).
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