Album Review: These Precious Days from Mary Foster Conklin
Album: These Precious Days Artist: Mary Foster Conklin Label: Mock Turtle Music Website: www.maryfosterconklin.com Combine elements of smooth swinging blues with a spicy cabaret swagger and add Broadway showtunes vibrations, and the result is jazz vocalist Mary Foster Conklin's latest offering These Precious Days . Conklin's vocals gleam elegantly while the caterwauling strings of Sara Caswell's violin add contrasting textures with a pinwheel of swirling squeals ornamenting the melodies. Pianist John Di Martino's sense of melody is impeccable, and guitarist Guilherme Monteiro's reflexes for harmony are instinctive. The rhythm section of Ed Howard on bass, Vince Cherico on drums, and Samuel Torres on percussion play pristinely, keeping the momentum in synchronicity with Conklin's lead. The slinky swagger of Conklin's vocals traversing leisurely across "Some Cats Know," composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, has a seductive hold on the lis...