Jazz Journal International, January 2004
Connie Evingson
"Gypsy In My Soul" (Minnehaha Music MM 2006)
A lively set of songs by this very good Minneapolis-based singer,
accompanied here by three different bands each of which is inspired by
the music of the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Pearl Django is
located in Seattle, the Parisota Hot Club in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the Clearwater Hot Club in Grand Rapids.
Some of the songs were played by Django Reinhardt, all are couched in
the style he created all those years ago on another continent. That the
style stands up today is evident from music performed by artists all
around the world and the many tribute concerts and festivals. Here, the
music is given appropriate treatment, always rhythmic, whether
effervescent or languidly strolling, although the musicians never allow
themselves to be dragged down into an overly reverential frame of mind.
It is interesting to hear how a song written long after Reinhardt's
death, Sting's Until, fits the bill nicely. It is also good to be
reminded of the legendary guitarist's skills as a composer with two of
his pieces, Amounan, to which Evingson has provided lyrics, and the
gorgeous Nuages, on which Evingson sings French lyrics by Jacques LaRue
and English by Susannah McCorkle. This is a thoroughly enjoyable CD by a
singer with a sinuously attractive vocal sound and one that I
unhesitatingly recommend to the Friends of Good Songs and also to those
who have a hankering for this timeless musical style. Evingson's last CD
was reviewed twice in JJI: by me in the January 2004 issue and by David
Lands three months later. Although I warmly recommended that CD, Lands
considered it a waste of a session. His disapproval was levelled
chiefly, I think, at the repertoire, Beatles songs, and he qualified his
comments by stating that the singer had a pleasant voice and added that
he would like to hear her tackle items from the Great American Songbook.
I hope he gets a chance to hear this one and if he does I shall be
interested to hear his reaction. I also hope that those of you who were
influenced by his review last time rather than mine, will take the
plunge on this one. I feel sure that you will not be disappointed.
Perhaps not easy to find as the label, Evingson's own, does not have UK
distribution but it can be purchased from major Internet stores and direct from
the singer at
www.connieevingson.com.
by Bruce Crowther,
Jazz Journal International
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