Andrea Wolper: The Small Hours – Andrea Wolper, vocals; Ron Affif, guitar; Ken Filiano, bass; Victor Lewis & Jamey Haddad, drums; others – VarisOne

by | Nov 29, 2005 | Jazz CD Reviews | 0 comments

Andrea Wolper: The Small Hours – Andrea Wolper, vocals; Ron
Affif, guitar; Ken Filiano, bass; Victor Lewis & Jamey Haddad,
drums; others – VarisOne.Jazz (no catalog number available) – 63 min.
***:

Andrea Wolper is a jazz vocalist and cabaret singer from New York. This
disc represents her freshman effort in the recording arena, and shows a
great deal of promise for the talented alto, who has worked most of the
Big Apple’s jazz rooms and a variety of international festivals, as
well. The disc is essentially a trio outing, with Ms. Wolper providing
vocals and accompanied mostly by Ron Affif on guitar and Ken Filiano on
bass. Drums, trumpet and flute are added on several of the tracks to
help make the mix a bit more interesting. Most of the songs are
standards and selections from Tin Pan Alley, but Ms. Wolper also
includes three originals; two of them, “Gray, Not Blue,” and “Not
Sleeping In Your Arms” are among the discs highlights. Plenty of room
is allowed for her accompanists to stretch out with generous solos that
provide excellent support to Andrea Wolper’s sultry vocal stylings.
While not everything here completely works, there’s still much to
admire, and I found it to be a very entertaining first effort.

There’s very little in terms of recording information included; it took
a trip to her web site to determine what record label the album is on!
The sound quality is superb for a small independent label offering.
Andrea Wolper has a very individual style that separates her from much
of the pack treading this often-tried territory, and that bodes well
for her future. You can try several of the tracks, including one of the
exceptional originals at her website, www.andreawolper.com. Recommended.

Tracks: Dancing On The Ceiling; You And The Night And The Music; Gray,
Not Blue; Night Time Was My Mother; Crazy Love; Rendevous In
Providence; Today; Not Sleeping In Your Arms; Little Suzie’s Humming;
Moanin’; Small Day Tomorrow; I Like You, You’re Nice.

— Tom Gibbs

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