A potent combination is the intelligent and earthy songwriting of
David Cantor and the sultry and stylizing jazz vocals of
Kelly Flint. The timbre of Kelly's voice melds magically with the main instrumentation of stand-up bass, vibes and thoughtful drums. Individual musicians dress up several tracks on guitar, baritone sax and tenor sax. Each track stands alone strongly due to the resilient Cantor construction and Flint's intoxicating delivery. Excepting the elevating treatment of
Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," every track is an original deserving to stand alone as a standard. As a testament to the proficiency to the dozen-and-a-half musicians involved, the entire album was recorded live and no overdubs were used. The quirky but worthy music here bears comparison to
Cole Porter. The content and approach are ideally suited to today's music fan looking back on a long cabaret jazz history and looking forward with expectation. This pairing of a wordmeister and a mistress of hip lounge is a rare and wonderful thing, so enjoy it. The twelve-page booklet includes all lyrics. ~ Tom Schulte