1.Everything I've Got
2.Blossom & Bee
3.Fly Away Birdie
4.The Luckiest
5.Down With Love
6.Lucky To Be Me
7.Tea For Two
8.I'm Old Fashioned
9.So This Is Love
10.The Lies Of Handsome Men
11.Some Of These Days
12.Unpack Your Adjectives.

Sara Gazarek - vocals
Josh Nelson – piano
Hamilton Price – bass
Zach Harmon – drums
John Pizzarelli - vocals, guitar
Larry Goldings -  piano, melodica, organ

All chicken or feathers, feast or famine, flood or drought; regarding jazz vocal releases, there is always a healthy steady stream of new music being produced. The vast majority is good while, as it should be, the truly exceptional are of a rarer variety. The release of Kate McGarry's exceptional Girl Talk (Palmetto, 2012) might have been just a singular event of excellence, except that Sara Gazarek decided to join McGarry at Palmetto records, releasing the equally fine Blossum & Bee, signaling a trend of excellence in jazz vocals released over a compressed event horizon.

Vocalist Gazarek has already had a banner year, considering her collaboration with Triosence on Where Time Stands Still (Charleston Square, 2012). Add to this her Palmetto recording and the singer might be found attaining artistic cruising altitude. Gazarek considers herself an "interpreter" or "song stylist," not unlike Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett, as opposed to a vocal gymnast capable of scat or vocalese fireworks. Her interpretive ability is true and her style is a perfect updating of what the song stylist does.

Gazarek ensures her comfort zone with the presence of her Los Angeles- based trio: pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Zach Harmon. She is also joined and supported by producer Larry Goldings, who provides organ, piano and melodica support, and an appearance by guitarist vocalist John Pizzarelli, who capably duets with Gazarek on her own "Blossom & Bee," singing sweetly and providing that 1930s guitar sound to the retro-related piece. The sum of this band is that it facilitates Garzarek's global creative vision in delightfully unexpected ways.

Garzarek's confident voice and sure ear enable her to capably sing across genre and periods. The opening "Everything I've Got" sounds every bit Rodgers and Hart updated with a very smart and shiny contemporary arrangement. This is very much old wine poured into a new wineskin with all of the show tune charm with tasteful instrumental updating. The Gazarek-Nelson original "Fly Away Birdie" is softly gospel-R&B, with Nelson playing electric piano in solution with Golding's soulful organ. Again, an inventive coupling of the old and new.

A thoroughly contemporary and appropriately performed "The Luckiest" is a Ben Folds composition close to Gazarek, having had a place at her wedding. "Lucky to be Me" is given a power-ballad reading, with drummer Harmon providing expansive percussion that sweeps the song along. Old standbys "Tea for Two" and "I'm Old Fashioned" follow Gazarek's already established formula of genius modern interpretation that does not go so far as to ruin the material. Her progressively conservative spirit is what broadens the center of her interpretations. Her closing with Schoolhouse Rock's "Unpack Your Adjectives" shows that no material is off limits to this talent singer, who is sure to keep delighting with the highest quality. ---C. Michael Bailey, allaboutjazz.com

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01. My Shining Hour (3:13)
02. Yours (4:03)
03. Amazing (5:12)
04. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (3:41)
05. Cheek to Cheek (3:58)
06. You Got By (4:27)
07. Blackbird/Bye Bye Blackbird (5:55)
08. The Circle Game (5:07)
09. All or Nothing at All (6:53)
10. Too Young to Go Steady (5:00)
11. You Are My Sunshine (3:35)

Musicians:
Sara Gazarek – vocals
Josh Nelson – piano
Erik Kertes -  acoustic bass
Matt Slocum – drums

It's commonplace for young vocalists to do an album of standards when debuting on the jazz scene. What sets them apart is how they present these songs, which have been done many times over by both veterans and newcomers. Some who have succeeded are Jane Monheit, Michael Bublé, and Renee Olstead. Sara Gazarek, 23, has joined their ranks. Early indications are she will succeed—provided she doesn't just do covers, but present them in a way that sets her apart from the others.

Gazarek has performed with Oleta Adams, Karrin Allyson, and Diane Schuur as the "yet undiscovered talent at the Concord Jazz Festival. Other artists she's played with or studied under include Barry Manilow and Tierney Sutton.

Yours is a mix of jazz standards, pop/rock covers, and original songs. Gazarek is backed by pianist Joshua Nelson, bassist Erik Kertes, and drummer Matt Slocum. Nelson wrote the title song and "Amazing, two charming pieces that may help Gazarak distinguish herself. She does justice to the standards, of course, but how many versions of "My Shining Hour and "Cheek to Cheek can jazz listeners stand before saying "Enough! ? Both are nicely done, of course. In fact, Nelson's piano solo and Gazarek's scatting at the end turn "Cheek to Cheek from just another cover to something delightful. While this rendering doesn't strengthen the album, it doesn't hurt it either.

The ensemble gets a bit more creative with the medley "Blackbird/Bye Bye Blackbird, seamlessly weaving the Beatles' hit with the Mort Dixon-Ray Henderson composition. The first portion opens with Kertes' bowed bass and Gazarek's wordless vocal, backed by Nelson. The title song, penned by Nelson, is a charming ballad. Kertes gets a moment to shine with a brief bass solo, but the singer's voice is what carries this tune. Gazarek is a light alto, cut from the same fabric as such vocalists as Corinne Drewery of Swing Out Sister and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac.

This characteristic comes through on Nelson's "Amazing, demonstrating that this quartet's original work will help it break from the pack. "You Got By, co-written by Gazerek and Kertes, is another charmer. Gazarek demonstrates her range, smoothly reaching a crescendo while crisply striking a couple of high notes during one of the more dramatic moments. Then, after Nelson's brief solo, she comes back down to normal level with a sassy, Janis Siegel-esque interlude before closing the song with the main melody.

While the covers of the jazz standards aren't strong enough to attract the listener who might otherwise miss this album, they are good enough to support the other material. The original songs, and Gazarek's voice, are what make this recording special. ---Woodrow Wilkins, allaboutjazz.com

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1 	Lonely Hours 	5:59
2 	Never Will I Marry 	3:49
3 	I'm Not The Only One 	4:49
4 	Easy Love 	4:20
5 	I Get Along Without You Very Well 	5:44
6 	I Believe When I Fall In Love 	5:44
7 	Jolene 	4:35
8 	Gaslight District 	5:30
9 	The River/River Man 	7:01
10 	Intro: Chrysalis 	0:33
11 	Cocoon 	5:54
12 	Distant Storm 	6:14
13	Spinning Round	4:45

Alto Saxophone – Danny Janklow (tracks: 7), Josh Johnson (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 8, 10, 11)
Backing Vocals – Erin Bentlage (tracks: 3, 5, 7, 11), Michael Mayo (tracks: 3, 5)
Bass – Alex Boneham
Bass Clarinet – Brian Walsh (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
Drums – Christian Euman (tracks: 1 to 8, 10, 11)
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Stu Mindeman (tracks: 2, 3, 8, 10)
Organ – Larry Goldings (tracks: 7) 
Percussion – Aaron Serfaty (tracks: 5), Keita Ogawa (tracks: 2)
Piano – Stu Mindeman (tracks: 1, 4 to 7, 11)
Trombone – Ido Meshulam (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11)
Vocals – Sara Gazarek
Vocals [Special Guest] – Kurt Elling (tracks: 11) 

Sara Gazarek has been working as a professional jazz singer since 2004. You can find plenty of vintage YouTube clips of her singing Great American Songbook material in a breezy, polished manner. A few years ago, things began to happen in her life. There was near-death tragedy in her family, her marriage fell apart and she began to wonder about her professional future. On this, her sixth album, her reactions to all this have resulted in a broadening and deepening of her art. She sings here with a new-found power and earnestness and draws her repertoire from a wide array of sources including Stevie Wonder, Nick Drake and her own writing.

The music on the set includes funky fusion tracks, acoustic ballads and hybrids of differing styles. Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" gets a simple treatment with wistful voice against a piano trio while Frank Loesser's "Never Will I Marry" is buoyed by a bubbly African rhythm. Cuts like"I'm Not The Only One" and Stevie Wonder's "I Believe When I Fall In Love" have plush electric funk or soul backing and are brought to life through the earnest humanity of Gazarek's singing. She shows a more subtle sensuality on "Easy Love," cooing over sophisticated jazz-pop led by Larry Goldings' organ and Stu Mindeman's piano. The drama really comes out in Dolly Parton's classic country ballad, "Jolene." Over a turbulent rumble of piano and drums, Gazarek's voice starts out intense and gets harder and angrier as the song goes on. By the end she is practically screaming at Jolene to keep away from her man.

Over its last few tracks, the CD takes a more philosophical turn. "Gaslight District" is a calming combination of jazz and folk impulses with Gazarek's vocal supported by sensitive reeds. The horn section also provides a soothing backdrop to her singing of a Sara Teasdale poem "The River" which segues into Nick Drake's magical "River Man" sung over a gently rocking electric piano. Bjork's typically dreamlike "Cocoon" allows Gazarek to stretch her voice in a weightless atmosphere surrounded by softly pulsing bass and percussion and ghostly electric piano. Finally she sings her own words over the open sky landscapes of Brad Mehldau's composition, "Distant Storm," her voice firm with quiet conviction as she climbs through the folk-tinged melody with help from a rich alto solo by Josh Johnson and an elegant vocal interlude by her friend and mentor, Kurt Elling.

This is the finest music of Sara Gazarek's career to date. Her voice is still glossy and polished but now it also has purpose and maturity. She sounds like a woman who has faced challenges and survived. The music on these tracks goes in several different directions but the depth and honesty of Gazarek's singing ties them all together. As the picture on the CD cover suggests, this work comes directly from her heart. ---Jerome Wilson, allaboutjazz.com

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