Three ladies with three different deliveries…
Julia Vari is rarin’ to go as she’s full of energy with the team of Jose Negroni/p-arr, Nomar Negroni/dr and Rafael Valencia/b. She oozes with Latin Passion throughout, as on the sparkling “La Bikina” while jumping right on stage for “Nature Boy”. She uses her voice for percussion on “ Noche de Ronda” and gives oomph to Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” as she sings it in Portuguese” while hitting the ground running on “Historia de Un Amor”. She could get coffee energized!
Queen Esther preaches it like she means it with a voice that mixes blues and gospel with a team of Jeremy Bacon/p, Shawn Balthazor-Warren Smith/dr ,Hilliard Greene-Thomson Kneeland/b and “ McLoughlin/g. She’s Tin Pan Alley cute for the fun “Having Myself” with Bacon, and the two get slinky for “Gold Standard’.” She’s bold and defiant with some tasty guitar licks on “Blow Blossoms” and dims the lights on “Flashin’ In Front Of My Eyes”. Bursting at the seams!
Andrea Wolper writes a good share here and does some clever takes of some obscure covers on this album backed by John Di Martino/p, Ken Fillano/b, Michael TA Thompson/dr, Charlie Burnham/vi and Jeff Lederer/cl-fl. There are some artsy moments with Lederer on the tribal “Sobe E Desce” with some long shadows cast on “Nevermore”. Violin and voice get prismatic for “The Nature Of Life” and she sighs with De Martino on “Still Life”. There’s a delicate enunciation to her read of Sting’s “I Burn For You” and a rumbling on Abbey Lincoln’s “The Music Is The Magic”. Artistic sketches with voice.