1. The Meaning of the Blues
2. The Blues are a Brewin'
3. Was It Something You Said
4. Baby I Don't Cry Over You
5. Angel Eyes
6. Bye Bye Baby, See You When I Get Home
7. I Cover the Waterfront
8. I Can Dream
9. We're Going Wrong
10. Detour Ahead
11. Blues for Mama
12. Stay Away Baby
13. Willow Weep for Me
14. Sinner's Prayer
Zoe Schwarz - Vocals
Rob Koral- Guitars
Ian Ellis - Tenor sax
Paul Robinson - Percussion (track 8)
33 Jazz has featured many outstanding female vocalists - most notably Tina May - over the years. Zoe Schwarz - an experienced, classically-trained singer but, I must confess, a new name to me - has recorded several CDs for the Luton-based label, mostly in the company of guitarist Rob Koral. On this latest CD, the accompaniment is pared down to tenor sax and guitar only with no bass or drums except on one track.
There are some familiar songs such as Angel Eyes, Detour Ahead and Willow Weep for Me as well as four not especially memorable originals by the song-writing team of guitarist Koral and Sue Hawker. Schwarz's instinctive, bluesy style brings a real jazz singer's interpretation to all these songs, whether familiar or unfamiliar, and the guitar and sax playing of Koral and Ellis are finely tuned to each song's requirements. The resulting music is intimate and well-performed, but lacks variety of tone and rhythm.
No doubt Schwarz will record again for 33Jazz but I would be interested to hear her voice in the context of the broader harmonic and rhythmic support of a piano trio.
George Stacy
CD Reviews
33Jazz 229
