Barbara Montgomery – Trinity — Mr. Bean and Bumpy Music MBB005 CD ***1/2:
As a singer, Barbara has a big, rich voice that strikes the listener
with its force and power. The music is extremely well recorded
and arranged in a manner that recalls jazz standards. It’s
mellow, easy and seductive, and appears to just float around the front
of the room. The record is a collection of songs that tell
stories, some written by Montgomery and her co-producer and arranger
Aaron Graves, and some by others like Leonard Cohen, Van Morison,
Stevie Wonder, and Sammy Cahn—to name a few. Barbara sees these
stories as a way to connect us and her job as an artist “[to make]
these stories more accessible to our emotions, less frightening, and
more enlightening.” In some respects the album reminds me in
style of Patricia Barber (see “Junkman”).
As a singer, Barbara has a big, rich voice that strikes the listener
with its force and power. The music is extremely well recorded
and arranged in a manner that recalls jazz standards. It’s
mellow, easy and seductive, and appears to just float around the front
of the room. The record is a collection of songs that tell
stories, some written by Montgomery and her co-producer and arranger
Aaron Graves, and some by others like Leonard Cohen, Van Morison,
Stevie Wonder, and Sammy Cahn—to name a few. Barbara sees these
stories as a way to connect us and her job as an artist “[to make]
these stories more accessible to our emotions, less frightening, and
more enlightening.” In some respects the album reminds me in
style of Patricia Barber (see “Junkman”).
I should note that a portion of sales of the record will be donated to
the Million Mom March United with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence. There isn’t a lot of surprise on this record, so if you
want a slow, relaxing record with lots of thought-provoking lyrics in a
jazz style, then this album was recorded for you. Songs included
are: Alexandra Leaving; Little One; If It’s Magic; April 14; Avec
Le Temps; 1000 Kisses Deep; Junkman; She Speaks; Between; Crazy Love; I
Fall In Love Too Easily; Trinity.
-Brian Bloom
