AprilCadence2013

Papatamus Robert D. Rusch
It’s a record by Judith Zürcher, and it’s joined by Janos knobel on guitars,
Milan Scheidegger on keyboards, which include the Hammond and
piano, Mirco Häberli, and Remo Borner on drums. And it’s on the Unit
label, which is a Swiss label, and it’s called Positively Pessimistic, UTR 4371.
Miss Zürcher, who has written all the original nine pieces, sings on modern
universal maladies, observations on common themes. Her proactive lyrics
strike true, but maybe if they don’t, they’ll make you think. And the CD
comes nicely with a printout of the lyrics, but say nothing about the singer.
Anyway, I found this an intriguing and enjoyable vocal album, and
with lyrics that do make you think. Again, a good recording. I should
say, actually, a thoughtful recording, and also a good recording.
For people who are interested in Norah Jones-ish type singing, there’s
Tara Linda, Torch and Sass. It appears on the Tara Linda Physalia
Records, no number. As I said before, this is somewhat derivative
of Norah Jones. She also sings originals, and this is all done up in
40s saloon manner. This is an acquired taste, perhaps, but if you’ve
acquired it, I think you’ll find it more fulfilling than Miss Jones’ work.
The hype sheet says that she is endorsed by Hohner Accordians, and
Lanikai Ukuleles, and she lives in Oakland, California. But she’s more than
that, and, again, if you like that sort of period music, this is the one to find.
Singer Shawnn Monteiro has come out with a set of 12 standards with
Mike Renzi on piano, Dave Zeno on bass, and Steve Langone on drums,
and it’s called To Carmen, with Love. When I first listened to this—I
very often listen to CDs without paying much attention to who it is;
just listen to the fresh and—and said it was very much in the Carmen
McRae mold, and lo and behold obviously it’s meant to be that way.
Blindfolded on first blush, you might think it was Carmen McRae, but it’s
not. She sings standards with a believable conviction and with some original
approach, but enjoyable as it is you’re going to think of Carmen McRae. If
there hadn’t been a Carmen McRae, this record might not have existed. If it
had existed, it would be particularly notable—if she had existed, I should say.
Shawnn Monteiro on Whaling City Sound,
#WCS057, and it’s called To Carmen, with Love.
And finally in the vocal department, we have Jason Paul Curtis,
called Lover’s Holiday, and from the look of the package, with the
champagne and so forth, it looks like another Sinatra or Sinatratype
singer clone. This has no record label or number. If you go
to www.jasonpaulcurtis.com, you can find more out about this.
Here he’s backed by a small and large group. The small group
he calls Swing Lab; the large group he calls Swing Machine. On a
mixture of originals and standards, including Our Time of Year, Let
it Snow, Christmastime is Here, Good This Year, Blue Friday, Lover’s
Holiday, You’d Be So Nice to Come Home to, In the Still of the Night, I’ve
29 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013