My 25 year old daughter is a jazz vocal snob. Her first gig was seeing Mark Murphy at 11 years old, and she’s never turned back. So, I put this one on, and she says, “Is this Nat? No, wait, it’s Mel Torme’. It sounds like a cross between these two!”
What else do you need to know about New Orleans native Anthony Jefferson, who is going to knock you out on this disc that mixes snappy small group jazz with romantic strings, and some stomping blues just for extra texture? He can get romantic and ethereal as on “But Beautiful” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay” or take you downtown to a smoky juke joint on a rollicking “Everyday I Have The Blues.” The team of Corey Allen/key, Remy Taveras/dr, Esar Simo’/b, Doug Webb/ts , Mark Rapp/tp, Moreno Fassi/tb, Eric Litman/as and Allan Leschorn/g hit the grooves just right, from an agonizing “Black Coffee” to a take of “My Favorite Things” that will make you forget about every other vocal take. No kidding! Rapp and Jefferson collaborate to make create their own little piece “Thank You” that is fresh and eloquent, making you want more, but then this whole disc accomplishes that. WHEW!