Album Review: This Could Be The Start from Linda Purl

-

Album: This Could Be The Start
Artist:  Linda Purl
Label: Reaching Records
Website:  https://www.lindapurl.com

Vocalist Linda Purl and her music director Tedd Firth come together for their fourth album, This Could Be the Start.  The collection contains Purl's reimagination of a handful of jazz standards, tailored to her vocal specifications.  Supported by an intimate cadre of musicians that include bassist David Finck, drummer Ray Marchica and reed player Nelson Rangell, Purl finesses a selection of Great American Songbook jewels with a contemporary sheen.

The playful merengue rhythm driving "Blue Moon," a swinging romp written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, is trussed in Ray Marchica's percolating percussion and a profusion of jutting keys performed by Ted Firth.  The track steps out of the customary schematics of swing jazz bolstered by blues vocals and articulates a Latin-imbued tremor.  The bossa nova curves shaping one of Cole Porter's signature pieces, "Dream Dancing," is fashioned by the squiggly spirals and feathery arcs of Rangell's reed as Purl brands the melody with a introspective glint.

Purl performs these tracks as though they exhume a special memory that she wishes to rekindle.  The listener can't help but feel that Purl grew up with this music, clenching her soul.  Her delivery is moving and personable, intimating a sentiment that the audience shares with her.  The chiming keys murmur and cluster gently around her vocals along Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's gem "Let Me Down Easy," and kick up to a swinging canter through Stephen Sondheim's softly sparkled "Live Alone and Like It."

Purl treats every tune as though each has a special place ingrained in her soul, expressing pivotal moments and indelible memories from the chapters of her life.  Sometimes reflective, sometimes celebratory, and sometimes pining over a great loss, Purl takes the listener through a series of life experiences that audiences will relate to and find solace in her endeavor to rekindle the memories of special moments in time.

Musicians:
Linda Purl - vocals
Tedd Firth - piano
David Finck - bass
Ray Marchica - drums & percussion
Nelson Rangell - Reed

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Album Review: The Ways In from James Zollar

-
Image
Album:  The Ways In Artist:  James Zollar Label:  Label: JZAZ Records Websites:  https://www.rsberkeley.com/james-zollar https://www.discogs.com/artist/954763-James-Zollar https://wyntonmarsalis.org/personnel/detail/james-zollar A straight-ahead jazz oeuvre, The Ways In from bandleader and trumpet player James Zollar resumes a quest where pioneers of the trumpet's sympathetic vibrations like Clifford Brown and Bill Coleman left off.  Zollar shows audiences the delightful, melodious tone of the trumpet, moving in harmony with an array of brass, woodwinds, and rhythm instruments. The robust wails of Zollar's trumpet strutting languidly along "Do Nothing 'till You Hear From Me" emotes an enduring personable trait, unwavering persistence in the face of being dejected.  The recording switches to a joyful atmosphere in "Swing Spring" with jangly beats from percussionist Chembo Corniel, interfacing with the buoyant ripples generated by Michael Rorby's trom
Read more

Album Review: Globetrotter from Luca di Luzio

-
Image
Album:  Globetrotter Artist:  Luca di Luzio Label:  Self-Released Website:  www.lucadiluzio.it   Guitarist Luca di Luzio's upcoming CD, Globetrotter  is an assortment of contemporary jazz tunes bridging funk, blues, soul, and Latin music.  Comprised of a few jazz standards and a handful of original works written by Luca di Luzio, a prolific guitar player who studied different styles of music, the recording expresses his personal vision of jazz guitar based on melody and groove.  Joining Di Luzio in his vision are bass guitarist Jimmy Haslip, drummer Dave Wecki, keyboardist George Whitty, and saxophonists Max Ionata and Alessandro Fariselli. From dance-funk numbers like "Jazzlife" and "Elisir" to the soft billows and reflective moods projected in "Smile" and " Buena Suerte," Di Luzio's artistry stems from his vision to make music that is aesthetically pleasing.  "Sunshower," a tune written by Kenny Barron, is a pr
Read more