Playing In The Dark

At the beginning of the 2000s, Norwegian singer made the European jazz scene really sit up and take notice. Her concept, as Canadian critic John Kelman has written, was to take songs from the American songbook and to slow them down. Way down. [...] She proved that slow, powerful and dramatic need not be mutually exclusive terms. Come In From The Rain now demonstrates how much those virtues have strengthened and deepened in the intervening years. The vibe right through this album is well-judged, the storytelling is compelling. There are timeless old tales like Buddy Johnsons Since I Fell For You or Irving Berlins How Deep Is The Ocean, stories to be rediscovered afresh like I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City, and more recent ones like Johnsburg, Illinois by Tom Waits. And there are new ones like So I Borrow Your Smile, her own composition. These songs may come from folk or jazz or pop, yet Slettahjell and her highly accomplished musicians always make them individual, tasteful and authentic. And the subtle way she bends notes, always bringing them into perfectly true-pitched final focus is nothing short of miraculous. Every time.

Tracks

Details

Format: CD
Artist: Drs & Dynamite
Release Date: 28 August 2020
Genre: Dance & Electronic
Label: Proper/Hospital Records
Distributor: MGM Music