One can almost hear
Rebecca Kilgore smiling as she sings. Since she launched her jazz career, she's been a jazz party favorite and has often displayed a penchant for digging up forgotten songs. For these 2010 sessions, she shares the spotlight with some of her regular collaborators on record dates (most of whom she's shared the stage with as well), including guitarists
Bucky and
John Pizzarelli, bassist Martin Pizzarelli, tenor saxophonist
Harry Allen, pianist
Larry Fuller, drummer Tony Tedesco, and violinist
Aaron Weinstein, with love being a common theme in the music. The little licks added behind her vocals in the swinging opener, "How Are You Fixed for Love," demonstrate the natural chemistry of the musicians. The haunting ballad "Where Is Love?," written for the movie Oliver!, is a warm feature with
John Pizzarelli's soft guitar; Tedesco adds gentle brushwork, while
Weinstein detours into "Who Will Buy?" from the same film in his brief solo.
Kilgore's lively approach to
Matt Dennis' "That Tired Routine Called Love" makes one wonder why jazz singers have overlooked this gem for so long.
Harry Allen's sassy tenor is the perfect accompaniment to the singer in her swinging take of
Duke Ellington's obscure "Take Love Easy." There isn't a weak spot throughout this enjoyable CD, something
Rebecca Kilgore fans have long come to expect when giving her latest release its initial spin. ~ Ken Dryden