This is the third album I’ve heard by vocalist Beata Pater, and it is a change from the Spartan “Golden Lady” or fusiony “Red,” the clever lady takes her wordless approach and delivers a mix of CTI soul jazz and toe tapping funk.
At times she sings by herself, and other moments she’ll multi-track, making other worldly yet accessible sounds as on the exciting “Reaping Spell” where she comes across like a vocal horn section, while on “Round Dance” she takes a Headhunter groove and creates sounds that mixes the swoop of Sarah Vaughan with the squeal of Ella Fitzgerald.
The team of Sam Newsome/ss, Anton Schwartz/ts, Aaron Lington/bs with Scott Collard/key, Aaron Germain/b, Alan Hall,dr and Brian Rice/perc serve a perfect blend of 70s soul stew for Pater’s trumpet tones on “Fire Dance” or a tour de force visceral gumbo of voices on “Ritual.” This lady takes the human sound to a new level, making ladies of the cabaret crowd sounding anachronistic . Wonderful! When’s she hitting LA?