Album Notes

"…this is a fine effort by a promising young singer." – Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene"The old saying 'Flaunt it if you’ve got it' has been passed on from generation to generation, and it certainly rings true for jazz vocalist Sarah DeLeo who has definitely got it and, she flaunts it on her sophomore release I’m In Heaven Tonight." - Susan Frances, jazzreview.com"Sara(h) DeLeo has a certain charm about her voice that comes across in a lucid, clear, intense manner. She is sure to connect with a wide jazz listening audience with her relaxed style." - Lee Prosser, jazzreview.com"A young, old-fashioned romantic with a passion for post-modern retrofitting of vintage songs, the celestial-toned Sarah DeLeo sounds as if she's in heaven as she breathes new life into venerable evergreens and angelically kitschy oldies. Able to generate the intimacy of a seasoned cabaret performer, DeLeo can make even the kitschy sound catchy as she does by morphing the rock 'n' roll hit "Rockin' Robin" into a jazz tune with a Blue Note tinge." – Owen McNally, Hartford CourantSarah DeLeo follows up on the critical success of her debut CD The Nearness of You with I’m In Heaven Tonight, another inspired collection of songs that reveals her powerful presence as a musical storyteller. A number of the tunes on this disc come from the American Songbook, and DeLeo’s exquisitely heartfelt renditions prove that the feelings expressed in these classics are truly timeless. Whether she’s singing about the euphoria of newfound love in I Feel Pretty or the bittersweetness of a love that might not last in I’m In Heaven Tonight, we feel each word deeply, as if these stories were our own. In addition to DeLeo's thoughtful readings of standards on this disc, we find a number of ingenious arrangements of songs from other genres that are thoroughly illuminating, such as her take on the White Stripes song In the Cold, Cold Night, which she brilliantly mined for its bluesy essence and retrofitted into a swinging number that could have been written decades earlier. DeLeo’s bandmates, all stalwarts of the New York jazz scene, are in constant dialog with her, perfectly complementing her sumptuous, satiny voice and giving her room to articulate each phrase with crystal clear diction and timing.