Nicole Zuraitis (vocals, piano, Rhodes 8);
Christian McBride (bass); Gilad Hekselman (guitar); Maya Kronfeld (organ,
Wurlitzer, Rhodes); Dan Pugach (drums) + special guests; David
Cook (piano); Billy Kilson (drums); Sonica: Thana Alexa, Julia Adamy (vocals tk
2)
Yet another superb woman singer with a rich, expressive, wide-ranging, voice, singing mostly her own compositions to sumptuous music. The only set of non-original lyrics are on Travel, which is a fine poem about trains, written by Edna St Vincent Millay (1892-1950). The music on this track manages to convey forward movement, with a guitar solo and backing singers.
'A heart as big as her remarkable voice' is a quote from the Jazz Police, who really must exist, maybe somewhere in New York which is our singer's stomping ground. I digress. The basic idea on which the album is based is about oil (tracks 1-5) and water (tracks 6-10) which represents the attraction of opposites in love relationships, though the songs in each part show similar variety.
The opening track, The Good Ways, is about an exciting lover and the singing is sophisticated with a jazzy organ solo. Reverie is suitably dream-like, with an extended guitar solo and comments from the piano. Let Me Love You is sung reflectively to guitar, followed by Burn, which is about optimism for a new romance, sung to fast bass and guitar solos.
For Two Fish, based on a Hebrew poem, I forgot to write anything at all as I was too busy listening to the fine swing of the band and the vocals. 20 Seconds has a suitably distorted sound to suit the idea of climate change compared to the end of a love affair. The final track, The Garden, is closer to a rock music style of performance.
There is a leaflet showing the lyrics of each song. Some of these were a bit 'wordy' and clunky on the page but these words came across well when sung, which is something I've noticed with original songs from other singers.
There is lots of information at nicolezmusic.com. This is Ms Zuraitis's sixth album and she is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, pianist and arranger and a regular performer at NYC jazz clubs as well as being the premier vocalist with the Birdland Big Band.
The album is, I believe, available from the usual suspects. Ann Alex
The Good Ways; Travel; Reverie; Let me Love You; Burn; Two Fish; Well Planned, Well Played; 20 Seconds; Like Dew; The Garden; Save It For A Rainy Day
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