Vox
01/24/13 By Christopher Loudon
Almost Love
Fallen Apple
Across his two previous albums, Marcus Goldhaber skirted the perimeter of jazz vocalism, evoking the spirit of Chet Baker while never quite capturing Baker’s ethereal charm. Almost Love finds him settling instead into a pop-folk groove—equal parts James...
01/18/13 By Christopher Loudon
Love Songs
Fresh Discs
Take a valuable document, make a photocopy, make a copy of the copy, repeat the process another 19 times and the end result would be a barely recognizable replica of the original. Such is the case with the latest (and 22nd) configuration of the Four Freshmen...
01/12/13 By Christopher Loudon
Smile
Andreasong
Tunes for tough times: such was Andrea Marcovicci’s goal when she set about assembling her 17th album. Noting, of late, a heightened sense of gloom among her audience members, the celebrated cabaret songstress decided to lay down her torch and serve up some...
01/08/13 By Christopher Loudon
Lost in a Lover's Dream
Three Line Whip
Thanks to the million-selling success he achieved with “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967, British vocalist and keyboardist Georgie Fame is often misbranded as yet another pop star who turned to jazz when the hits stopped coming. In fact, Fame’s jazz...
01/05/13 By Christopher Loudon
The Best Thing For You
MaxJazz
Assessing this musical hodgepodge from vocalist and pianist John Proulx, it’s difficult to move the praise meter past “pleasant.” Proulx is undeniably talented, with a keyboard style that often suggests the verve of Vince Guaraldi and a voice that echoes...
01/02/13 By Christopher Loudon
Loverman
DRG Records
Aged to perfection—such is Barbara Cook. The doyenne of New York cabaret has, at 83, never sounded more appealing than she does across this 15-track set almost entirely arranged and orchestrated by Ted Rosenthal. The lyric soprano that propelled Cook to...
12/29/12 By Christopher Loudon
Aurora
Clean Feed
Though classically trained, vocalist Sara Serpa’s musical education really began when she discovered Hot Clube Jazz and its offshoot school in her native Lisbon. Moving Stateside, she earned her master’s at New England Conservatory, where her teachers included...
12/26/12 By Christopher Loudon
Viva Duets
Columbia Records
This is Tony Bennett’s third trip to the Duets well, and he’s come up rather dry. The original Duets , released in 2006, included a pairing with Colombian vocalist Juanes. Last year, one selection on Duets II featured Bennett with Spanish singer-songwriter...
12/22/12 By Christopher Loudon
Release Me
Columbia Records
Though the title rather terrifyingly suggests an album of Engelbert Humperdinck covers, it actually refers to 11 tracks, languishing for various lengths of time in the Columbia vaults, handpicked by Streisand for belated release. Though such initiatives...
12/19/12 By Christopher Loudon
Notes From the Frontier
Toy Blue Typewriter
Her career has taken her from Madison to San Francisco to Portland to Manhattan, but it wasn’t until Jacqui Sutton arrived in Texas that she found just the right setting for the boldly unpredictable meld she calls “frontier jazz.” The Houston-based Sutton...
