Vocalist Nicolas Bearde shows his heart for Johnny Hartman on this attractive collection of sensuously swinging mood tunes. The mixed matched team includes Nat Adderley Jr’s piano on most of the tracks as well as Vincent Herring’s alto on a handful of tunes, but the focus here is on Bearde’s honey-toned delivery and relaxed sense of style and beat.
He shows he can gt the fingers snapping on a nifty “Come Back to Me” and “Save Your Love For Me,” but for the most part this man is creating sonic balms. Three tunes associated with Hartman and or Coltrane, “Lush Life,” “I Want To Talk About You” and “My One And Only Love” capture a similar coziness but with a softer landing. He gets deep on “Dindi” gets mysterious with Herring on “Nature Boy.” There was an old novelty tune called “Romance Without Finance is a Nuisance”; Bearde’s got the romance and the money to back it up.
Right Groove Records