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Clare Teal - Paradisi
Carousel (Sony/Columbia)
Released: May, 2007 (UK)
It's always something.
Is it jazz or cabaret? Jazz or easy listening pop?
Does it matter? Jazz is, I think, a niche market at best. Sony has
invested quite a bit of money in Ms. Teal, who has become a darling of
BBC's Radio Two crowd. Who can blame them for wanting to
break out and have a mainstream hit with Ms. Teal's musical talents? I'm
not crazy about the press-release comparisons to Norah Jones, Corinne
Bailey Rae and Madeleine Peyroux. Ms. Teal's style is nothing like any
of them.
She's a very, very good Clare Teal, no matter the genre - and good is
good.
Oh, my yes. Very good.
And this disc - a thoughtfully-assembled mix of covers and original
material - will be in my mix all summer. I made the comment once before
that her "Messin' With Fire" from an earlier album sounded like it had
been around for years. And so do two of the original tracks from this
disc - the bouncily optimistic, "Baby, I'm Coming Home," and the
beautiful melancholy of the title track - "Paradisi Carousel."
Ms. Teal's admirers include Michael Parkinson - the radio and TV
presenter who has launched a number of careers, including Michael
Bublé
and Jamie Cullum; and she continues to make fans the old-fashioned way,
one-by-one in tours around the UK.
My question is why do I have to wait for a trip through Heathrow, pay
import prices, or wait for weeks through amazon.co.uk? Why isn't Sony
looking for a larger audience in the states? Most any of these tracks -
originals or covers - would be right at home on any "Lite-FM" or "Smooth
Jazz" station on the west side of the Atlantic.
Other favorite tracks on this disc include a cover of Gerry Marsden's
"Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying," and one of Swing Out Sister's
first US hits, "Breakout." But there isn't a bad track in the lot. This
is the very best of what's coming out of the UK today. Why it's not
widely available in the US is the real sin.
Highest recommendation.
Four microphones (out of four)
- Doug Boynton
(06/04/07) |
