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[Neil]

Apologies to people who might already know her but I discovered Jessica Molaskey early in 2004 when my partner and I were on holiday in San Francisco. What a fabulous talent she is and I recomend her album Pentimento wholeheartedly.

We had been out for a walk and landed at the Tower records store. As is our usual habit, he went off to pop and rock whilst I made my way to easy listening. (Don't you think that's patronising by the way - I prefer sophisticated listening.)

As I waded through the usual Sinatra, Crosby, Bennett, Ella....material I heard Jessica's album playing. The tune playing was Ain't We Got Fun and of course I started to tap my fingers. As time passed I kept an ear on the album as the familiar tunes cropped up one by one. By the time it got to By The Beautiful Sea. I had to have a copy of this album so I snapped it up and rushed to my partner to tell him of this wonderful new singer I had discovered.

Pentimento is just beautiful. Try it - you won't be dissapointed.

The album is filled with songs from the 1920s and '30s that hoped to brighten the Depression, and Jessica delivers them in a soft, beautiful voice. She's accompanied by a wonderful band that includes her husband, John Pizzarelli, who used to work with another wonderful talent - Rosemanry Clooney.

The songs included are as follows:

1. Oh, You Beautiful Doll
2. I'm Just Wild About Harry
3. Ain't We Got Fun
4. What'll I Do
5. With Plenty Of Money And You/We're In The Money
6. Waitin' For The Train To Come In
7. Red, Red Robin
8. By The Beautiful Sea
9. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
10. Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning
11. You Made Me Love You
12. I Tried Too Hard for Too Long
13. When I Lost You
14. Look For The Silver Lining
15. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
16. Beautiful Dreamer
17. Sail Away

Sail Away & I Tried Too Hard for Too Long are two new songs written by Molaskey and Pizarelli but could easily be earlier standards.

And the likes of Jessica are what we need to keep this music alive. Not Rod Stewart or Robbie (imbecile) Williams or Brian Ferry or any rock star who thinks he can toss off an album of standards when the money is running low, but dedicated singers who love the music and have a feel for the lyrics.

I urge everybodyto snap this album up.

Neil

[Ken Barnes]

Thanks, Nell. Certainly a talent to watch out for.

[Mark Bakker]

Hi Neil,

I like the sound of this singer too. Never heard of her before reading your post but have since listened to the samplers on amazon. A great selection of songs for sure, and from what i hear, all very well interpreted.
There are some great new singers coming on who are choosing jazz, swing and the American song book as their mainstay.
I love Peter Cincotti and Clare Teal; Michael Buble and Jamie Cullum are worth a listen too.
Good to see that Tony Bennett, Andy Williams and Jack Jones all have UK concert dates this year too.
Regards,
Mark Bakker
Bristol

[Guest]

Gotta admit Mark I'm not too keen on Cullen, whilst his What A Difference A Day Made was a great recording, some of his other stuff leaves me quite cold, especially his I Get A Kick Out Of You, which he virtually screams his way through.

But Buble, Cincotti and Teal are great upcoming talents. I think Buble needs to cut down on the karaoke Sinatra somewhat - it's a contest he can't hope to win!

But all these people need encouragement as do the tv bosses to feature them. As I mentioned earlier, what really does annoy me is when a rock singer attempts an album of standards and they get plastered all over the television and radio. It seems that the imbecile (Robbie Williams) is threatening another album of standards soon too. God help us! The great American (and British) song book deserves much better.

[Ken Barnes]

Most of these young new singers deserve encouragement for showing good taste in their choice of material. Jamie Cullum is a fair jazz pianist but his singing is too mannered for my taste and his tone ( or lack of it ) is a bit off-putting. But his success should be applauded because he's taking record buyers in a more intelligent direction. Buble' is a better proposition vocally. It's just too bad that he leans so heavily on using Sinatra's recordings for inspiration because he'll always come off second best. I like his tone but I wish he had a better sense of jazz. He sings a nice bossa nova version of "The Way You Look Tonight" but this is let down slightly by his square phrasing. Still, it's early days yet and I'm sure he'll improve.

Peter Cincotti is fine. In fact, he sounds like Jamie Cullum ought to sound.
I love his version of Cole Porter's "I Love Paris."

Then there's Gwyneth Herbert and Claire Teal - both very stylish and jazzy. Diana Krall is even better and is probably the closest thing today to Peggy Lee. While she lacks Peggy's warmth and way with a lyric, she's getting better all the time. And what a piano player she is - better by far than Cullum and Cincotti.

We know that record companies have been losing money - and this is not just because of downloading. A big problem is that kids have lost interest in pop and rock and find more stimulus in computer games. So in desperation they have turned to a better standard of music. The trick is to find artists who are worthy of interpreting the Great American Song Book.
And some of the above are meeting the challenge with varying degrees of success. More power to them.

[Guest]

Spot on as usual Ken - I didn't log in for my earlier comments but I meant to add another name to the list, Patrizio Buanne. I discovered this chap last week - he has a new album out - and I think he's been on a few tv programmes and a few Radio 2 shows (allthough I have given up listening to Radio 2 now - since the day Sarah Kennedy got carpeted for playing a Bing record).

Buanne is a typical good looking Italian bloke with a great voice. His album contains versions of A Man Without Love (in fact he has quite a bit of Englebert about him), Come Prima, Luna Mazza Mare and an old Dean Martin standard Sotto Celli di Roma (On An Evening in Roma) amongst others.

It really is encouraging that new talents are coming through - younger talents who do have an interest in quality songs.

[Neil]

oops again, sorry - I am logged in now.

Do give the new Patrizo Buarre album a try too - it is a good one.

Neil

[B.Kellett]

I fully agree with Ken Barnes about these up and coming singers. But I would also like to add a word of encouragement for Ken's recently released 2-CD set of the great Johnny Mercer. 28 fabulous tracks from the master songwriter produced in London back in 1974 by Ken Barnes - with terrific arrangements from Pete Moore.

Four times Oscar-winner Mercer wasn't only a great songwriter, he was equally capable of earning a living as a singer. His versions here of his own great songs ( That Old Black Magic, Summer Wind, Too Marvellous For Words, One for My Baby - etc. ) are as good as any I've heard and are text book examples of how songs should be interpreted. If you like Sinatra, Bennett, Crosby or any of the great song stylists, you'll love this album. And the price is ridiculousl. Just £4.99.

[J.D.]

I agree with Neil about Jessica Molaskey. What an appealing voice together with a selection of popular old songs that, by their rarity on records these days, sound extremely fresh.

I also agree wholeheartedly with B. Kellett re. the newly released double CD - Johnny Mercer-Moon River. This is superb in every way - the songs, the singing ( Mr. Mercer was a master in both fields ), the excellent orchestrations and the terrific sound quality. I cannot recommend this one highly enough. It's worth a fiver of anyone's money.