. No matter what society says, you can’t change the chromosomes. XX chromosome vocalists are featured here in a wide variety of settings, all alluring and well delivered…
Emma Smith brings zaftig renditions of standards with a Borscht Belted team of Jamie Safir/p, Conor Chaplin/b and Luke Tomlinson/dr. She’s got a full hearted delivery, able to coo out some sass on pieces like the snappy “I Don’t Care” and “My Revelation” while panting heavily through “Making Whoopee”. She’s clear, clever and sly on her own “Sit On My Knee and Tell Me That You Love Me” and reaches into deep subtones on the noirish “Where Am I Going?” while showing her ability for understatement on “But Not For Me”. Sure, she can sing, but can she cook?
LA based vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia teams up with pianist Phillip Strange for a double disc’d concert in Japan back in 1992, finally seeing the light of day. Segal-Garcia is a rich interpreter of lyrics, full of richness and emotion, and Strange the perfect partner with his rich chords of support. The too delve deeply into a passionately agonized “You’ve Changed” , with Strange stretching out on a bluesy “God Bless The Child”. Due to the recording taking place in December, there are a handful of cozy Christmas tunes as well, including “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” and “White Christmas”, holding their own no matter the season. Strange pulsates deftly under Segal-Garcia on “Desifinado” and the two are lusciously alluring for “The Nearness of You”. What took this one so long?
Slovakian vocalist and songwriter Ester Wiesnerova debuts on an ambitious album with the unorthodox team of harpist Charles Overton, bassist Michal Selep, percussionist Kan Yanabe and Sam Knight on sax and clarinet. Overton’s harp adds a celestial atmosphere to folkish pieces such as “Sinking Deep” and the dreamy “Thirsty” with Knight’s sax bringing in bohemia to the multiple voices on “Burrito”. Wiesnerova has a resonant vibrato on “Circles” and brings tender whispers to “Feet Are Screaming”, with the band sounding like an updated version of the folk/blues group Pentangle, as Wiesnerova gives hints of Jacqui McShee on “Who Are You Now” and “Epilogue”. Eastern European treasures.