This year has been absolutely outstanding on the vocal front. Sarah Moule; Veronica Swift; Wilma Baan, to mention but three, have set my pulses racing - now there's another!
Samara Joy aced the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competion and now, at the ripe old age of 21, releases her debut album - it's an absolute killer!
That most of the songs were written before her mother, maybe even her grandmother, was born is irrelevant. It may sound clichéd but she really does revitalise these gassers. A typical example being Everything Happens to me. The ballad, normally taken at a soporific tempo, is given a medium to up boot that does no harm at all.
In actual fact, of the twelve tracks, only five were familiar to me the other seven were either new or only vaguely remembered plus, the fact that some of them were originally recorded by Nat 'King' Cole only serves to emphasise the quality of these versions.
In case you think I'm going over the top, I haven't even started!
Behind every great singer there's a great accompanist or, in this case, three of the best.
Grasso is described in the blurb as 'a budding star'. Delete 'budding' this guy has well and truly blossomed - if he hasn't then the guitar league tables are due to be rewritten. On bass, Roland proves to be as impressive playing arco as he is on pizz. Kenny Washington? No need to answer that question other than with 'tops'.
It's easy to see why Samara won the Sarah Vaughan Competition - if Sassy herself had been competing it wouldn't have been a shoo-in for The Divine One!
OMG! There's a ringer - track 13 isn't listed on the album cover but it's the best version of this tune I've ever heard! Sorry, you'll have to buy the disc to find out what it is. Suffice to say, I think Duke would have approved.
Lance
Samara Joy plays Ronnie Scott's on July 6 and the album is officially released by Whirlwind Recordings (WR4776) on July 9.
Stardust; Everything Happens to me; If You Never Fall in Love with me; Let's Dream in the Moonlight; It Only Happens Once; Jim; The Trouble with me is You; If You'd Stay the Way I Dream About You; Lover Man; Only a Moment Ago; Moonglow; But Beautiful.
2 comments :
Lance, you write so passionately! I can’t wait to listen to this album and I’m sure that my ears will agree with yours.
All the best from down South,
Sarah (Sarah Ellen Hughes)
Sarah, it really is a great album and one I'm sure you will enjoy.
Lance.
ps: apologies for the delay in posting your comment the pc is in huffy mode at the moment!
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