Album Notes

Jazz Ambassadors Magazine Review, August/September 2011

This is the long-awaited second release from Laura Chalk, after her fine 2004 CD My Favorite Things. She has gained much over these past seven years, as when My Favorite Things was done she really was just breaking into music. She took chances on the debut release, especially with time. The improvisation is a larger part of the repertoire now, as she offers much more melodic variation to these tunes than on her debut. The key examples are the standards “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” and “All the Things You Are,” where she sings the first chorus fairly straight (still showing the lag-behind-then-catch-up tactics that have always been part of her style), then she repeats the lyrics with melodic variations in subsequent choruses. The voice hasn’t really changed since her debut, but there is more presence to it, as if she trusts it (and her musical instincts) more. And on these faster tunes, her delivery is more staccato and more clearly articulated. She uses more vibrato, and has less tendency to fade off of notes. There is a Laura Chalk style that has emerged. I liked her before, and do even more now.

There is some variety here as well: swingers, bossa novas, and ballads, of course, but also with the instrumentation. Three tracks have Laura with just guitarist Danny Embrey and bassist Bob Bowman; pianist Paul Smith and either drummer Tim Cambron or Steve Hall, join them on other tracks, plus Laura’s extraordinary son Matt is added on three tracks. All have plenty of solo space (Paul, Danny, and Bob are predictably strong), and I love the introductions, such as Bowman’s on the opening track, Danny’s on “Desafinado” and “Say It Over and Over Again,” and Paul’s on “Corcovado.” Matt solos on his three cuts, controlled and melodic; the interplay with his mom on “All or Nothing at All” is a high point in the program. He gets to stretch out a bit on his solo here as well, as does Tim Cambron. Nice arrangement here, too (It’s also Laura’s; she did the arranging on six tracks, with Embrey doing the balance).

Also new from Laura is the lyricist; she wrote the lyric to “Em Casa Sozinho (Home All Alone).” Bossa nova lyrics are often sad, and Laura’s fit with that mood. This is the only bossa nova here without Laura doing a Portuguese lyric.

I trust, and hope, that we’ll get Act III before 2018.

— Roger Atkinson