With her second solo project for Soona Songs, Lisa Markley once again brings her unique sensibility to jazz standards, songs by up and coming songwriters, and two new songs by the artist herself. Recorded in the Russ Berger designed Soona Songs Studio by engineer/producers Graham Duncan and Marilyn Duncan, and mastered by Grammy award-winning engineer Bob Katz; this album features Lisa's acclaimed vocals with J Paul Slavens on piano, Bach Wilder Norwood on bass and Jeffrey Barnes on clarinet, flute and tenor sax.
| play | download | ||
| 1. | One Word | mp3 | |
| 2. | Skylark | mp3 | |
| 3. | Song for Henry | mp3 | |
| 4. | New Jersey Sunset | mp3 | |
| 5. | I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) | mp3 | |
| 6. | When I Was a River | mp3 | |
| 7. | Adagio | mp3 | |
| 8. | Lullaby of Birdland | mp3 | |
| 9. | Little Red | mp3 | |
| 10. | You Told Me So | mp3 |
Lisa Markley, a singer, songwriter, and graduate from the University of North Texas with a degree in music composition, sent me the type of project that was made for introspective, rainy days. Characterized by sparse, organic arrangements that can be ingested like a breath of fresh air, this CD is the perfect remedy for over-produced music.
Her lead, and title track, "One Word," conjures up memories of Roberta Flack's "If Ever I Saw Your Face" in tone and temperament, but will also evoke musical memories of Sarah McLachlan with her emotive vocal phrasing. Other standout tracks include the burlesque, "Song For Henry," the jazzy, up-tempo, flute-driven "New Jersey Sunset," and the sexy, "Adagio."
It's tough to pinpoint the "most commercial" song on this project because it's not a commercial CD. I reviewed it because each song comprises the many good parts of a greater whole, and should be listened to by Jazz, Folk and Blues lovers on "repeat" for maximum affect.
Enjoyable; that's the one word which best describes Lisa Markley's latest project." -Gian Fiero, The Muse's Muse
About download formats:
FLAC is a lossless format that is identical in quality to CD.
MP3 is a compressed format that will work in any player. Soona MP3s are encoded at 320kbps.