This Is The Moment
La Reserve, 2023
8/10
The esteemed New York City vocalist Vanessa Perea brings her expressive pipes to these 12 rich jazz tunes, where Adam Birnhaum, Neal Miner and Aaron Kimmel all bring their respective talents to a memorable listen.
“This Is The Moment” opens the listen with Perea’s smooth pipes alongside Kimmel’s restrained drums, where Birnhaum’s bright keys enter for the last 30 seconds, and “Anthropology” continues the warmth with swift keys and bouncy bass from Miner, as Perea’s flowing vocal acrobatics are quite memorable.
At the midpoint, “Something Happens To Me” is packed with soft melodies that help illuminate Perea’s gorgeous, silky singing, while “I’m Lost” is a more intimate moment of poetic vocals and gently plucked bass before the sparkling keys enter.
“Then I’ll Be Tired Of You” and “Lover, Come Back To Me” exit the listen, where the former is an emotive and powerful album highlight, and the latter leads minimally, before upbeat keys, lively bass and frisky drums complement Perea’s vivid storytelling.
A listen that interprets The Great American Songbook with much sincerity and elegance, the Latin nods and swing and bebop moments only add more allure to Perea’s vision of timeless jazz song craft.
Travels well with: Robert Edwards- Up Swing; Marcus Persiani- The Proper Time