May 1999

Pucci Amanda Jhones
Wild is the Wind
CIMP Recordings

By Sid Gribetz

Pucci Amanda Jhones is a singer with limited range who nevertheless manages to convey emotion and depth with inventive readings of the standard songs on this album. She takes chances with pitch, and with time and beat, to make a compelling presentation that is anything but standard. In this regard, on this date she is backed by an open rhythm section of Rory Stuart's guitar, with Hilliard Greene on bass and Wade Barnes, drums. Floating in and out is the sax of Casey Benjamin, off-center and off-kilter, adding a spicy tinge to the proceedings, new constructions of these tunes.