Jacintha - Lush Life

"This is Jacintha's third album for Groove Note, and her first with strings. Very popular in her native Singapore, she's beginning to get a worldwide reputation, and this release demonstrates why: her voice is lovely, with clear diction and expressive, naturalistic phrasing. She draws the listener into a warm intimacy from the first track, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", a rarely-covered and beautiful song with the perfect rainy-night-in-Paris ambience supplied by Frank Marocco on accordian."

"Other highlights include a bluesy but refreshingly non-wailing "Black Coffee" with a fine understated solo by Bill Cunliffe on piano; he's also good on the silky bossa "Manha de Carnaval", where Anthony Wilson's melodic plucking contrasts nicely with the smoothness of the strings. Another unusual but happy choice, "When the World Was Young", showcases the superb flugelhorn of Dmitri Matheny that enhances four other tracks as well."

"Eight of the ten selections are ballads, and since Jacintha delivers her message straight and serene, the overall feel is quiet, sultry and relaxing. After slow readings of "The Shadow of Your Smile, "Lush Life", and "September Song", Joe LaBarbera's brushes and drum accents on "Harlem Nocturne" provide a welcome texture and pulse. The surprise of the CD is the startlingly original introduction to the vastly overplayed "Summertime", where Bill Cunliffe's string arrangement evokes both Gershwin and the French impressionists. This is excellent late-night listening; the local male vote was "mesmerizing." - Judith Schlesinger

The session was recorded multi-track using the state of the art Sony Direct Stream Digital (DSD) system at Oceanway, Hollywood..

Features:
• Super Audio CD
• SACD Multi-Channel SACD Layer
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!

Musicians:
Jacintha, vocals
Peggy Baldwin, celli
Rudy Stein, celli
Susan Chatman, violin
Norman Hughes, violin
Gina Kronstadt, violin
John Wittenberg, violin
Renita Koven, viola
Virginia Frazier, viola
Amy Shulman, harp
Frank Marocco, accordion
Dmitri Matheny, flugelhorn
Anthony Wilson, guitar
Darek Oles, bass
Bill Cunliffe, piano
Jo La Barbera, drums

	1. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams
	2. Black Coffee
	3. Summertime
	4. Lush Life
	5. Manha De Carneval
	6. The Shadow of Your Smile
	7. When We Were Young
	8. September Song
	9. Harlem Nocturne
	10. Smile