1. Everything I've Got Belongs to You
2. So Twentieth Century
3. Love is Real
4. Lowercase
5. A Modern Art
6. Edgeways
7. Love of Another
8. Totally
9. Everybody Today is Turning On
10. Sunday Morning Here With You
11. Promises
12. Things I Miss the Most
13. As We Live and Breathe
14. Nirvana
Claire Martin - Vocals
Gareth Williams - Piano
Laurence Cottle - Bass
Nigel Hitchcock - Alto Sax
Mark Nightingale -Trombone
Phil Robson - Guitar
James Maddren - Drums
Chris Dagley - Drums
Sola Akingbola- Percussion
Since the launch of her debut album The Waiting Game (1992,
Linn), Claire Martin has established herself as one of the UK's finest
jazz vocalists. Acknowledging the influence of Shirley Horn especially
and also Chris Connor (who just recently passed away and was one of
the pre-eminent cool vocalists of the 1950's), Martin's vocal inspirations
have kept her previous albums focused for the most part on a jazz
based repertoire.
Her latest release A Modern Art is taking her down a somewhat
different path. Drawing on more modern material, Martin has chosen
to offer her interpretation of songs from the rock, pop and soul influenced
music world. The challenge is to attract a younger more contemporary
listening audience where lyrics are less important than presentation,
style, and sound all the while retaining her supportive jazz base.
As Claire Martin indicates in the album's liner notes, only two songs
come from "classic" composers. One is Rodgers & Hart's Everything
I've Got Belongs to You but is taken at such a brisk tempo that
it is difficult to appreciate those clever lyrics. The other is sly
Cy Coleman's little ditty Everybody Today is Turning On which
is about mind-altering substances and is from Coleman's 1977 Broadway
musical I Love My Wife.
Claire Martin along with bassist Laurence Cottle has provided two
compositions for the album, including the title number A Modern
Art and a more satisfying Edgeways which has a very catchy
bossa nova flavoured arrangement. Martin also provides her interpretation
to the Joshua Redman composition Lowercase, which is very different
from the reading given to the tune by the co-composer Mark Winkler
in his own CD entitled Till I Get it Right. The balance of
the songs on the disc fall into the trendy edgy category. There are
several which are notable, including a very bluesy arrangement of
Totally, a Latin inspired As We Live and Breathe and
finally Nirvana where Martin is accompanied only by the acoustic
guitar of Phil Robson. It is in this latter song where we can clearly
hear the controlled phrasing and intonation for which Martin has become
recognized.
Claire Martin has stretched her boundaries with this album and it
may not find favour with her traditional fan base. However it is certainly
an interesting digression in her musical journey.
Pierre Giroux
CD Reviews
Linn AKD 340
