July/August 2000

Barbara Adamson
Now Is the Time
Stet

By Patricia Myers

The debut recording of San Francisco singer Barbara Adamson conveys the passionate intensity of long-experienced vocalists. Backed by pianist Marshall Otwell, bassist Stan Poplin and drummer Steve Robertson, plus guest horn players, she opens with brief renditions of "Just in Time" and "April in Paris." Then she offers a more explorative take on "I Thought About You." She's luminously lyrical on "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" and "Yesterdays," quietly expressive on "You Go to My Head." When Adamson delivers "Boplicity" entirely as scat, her voice has the agility of a horn. When I reached the album's 56-second Thelonious Monk closer, "Get It Straight," I was convinced I want to hear more from Adamson.