Album Notes

No experiments for Alison Hogan. She sticks with the basics, the gospel of jazz singing as preached by Miss Billie Holiday. Most of the songs come from the early part of Holiday's career and Hogan's singing does a remarkable job of evoking her. She doesn't directly imitate her style but the distinctive near-tuneless lilt and wonderfully understated sense of rhythm are eerily present. Occasionally the facade slips and Hogan sings in her own voice, a stronger and more enveloping instrument with its mature sense of yearning. The musical accompaniment, very much in the style of early Holiday, is excellent with Tom Keenlyside's robust tenor, Ron Thompson's pretty guitar and Miles Black's lightly swinging piano all contributing. The fragile beauty and optimistic joy of Billie Holiday's early records is nicely captured on this CD.

Jerome Wilson Cadence February 1996