I Thought About You,
Christy Baron's first album, demonstrated that a singer doesn't need the massive chops of
Dianne Reeves or
Dee Dee Bridgewater in order to deliver a convincing jazz vocal date. Instead of going for hard bop or providing a lot of complex, horn-like scatting and vocalese, the Pittsburgh native favors a light and melodic approach that is best described as "acoustic jazz with R&B and pop elements." One of the things that makes the CD successful is the fact that
Baron doesn't bite off more than she can chew -- though soulful and capable of depth, someone with as sweet and youthful a voice as
Baron probably wouldn't have been very convincing on
Billy Strayhorn's world-weary "Lush Life." But the singer shows how tasteful an interpreter of lyrics she can be on selections ranging from the standards "Night and Day" and "Body and Soul," to no less than three
Stevie Wonder pearls: "Summer Soft," "Knocks Me off My Feet," and "If It's Magic." And her performance of Noel Brasil's "Columbus" is simply gorgeous. Thankfully,
Baron realizes that great popular music didn't die with
Cole Porter, and her ability to find the jazz potential in songs by the
Beatles ("Got to Get You into My Life"),
Bill Withers ("Ain't No Sunshine") and
Wonder is a major asset. Though not well-known,
I Thought About You indicated that
Baron was someone to keep an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson