This latest release from Austrian singer Simone Kopmajer has an intriguing set list of standards mixed in with some original material – and perhaps most intriguingly of all, a song written in tribute to the beloved pink-clad genie played by Barbara Eden in the 60s (I Dream Of Jeannie).
Other interesting choices include Lil Hardin Armstrong’s Struttin’ With Some Barbecue, done with gleeful flourish, and Pennies From Heaven, a slightly hokey song but gently polished off and jazzed up here.
Kopmajer has excellent diction and swings well, with understated vibrato, and a brassy edge to her tone. Notes are straight to the point, with plenty of attack – no meandering up to or away from the melody here, which means you mostly know what to expect from each track.
More uptempo songs like Exactly Like You work best, when Kopmajer can skip lightly along on the beat rather than lingering too long over a phrase. Poinciana is also worth a mention for its soothing quality, gently rumbling bass line and sotto voce guitar.
A good album to put on for some classy, if predictable, lounge jazz.
Discography
Spotlights; Pennies From Heaven; You Don’t Call Me; Mighty Tender Love; Poinciana; Dig That Riff; Remember Jeannie; Struttin’ With Some Barbecue; Exactly Like You; A Gift From Buddy; Stompin’ at the Savoy; We’re Goin’ In; Mood Indigo; Dig That Riff (Remix) (64.00)
Kopmajer (v); Terry Myers (ts, cl); Paul Urbanek (p); Martin Spitzer (g); Karl Sayer (b); Reinhardt Winkler (d). Mitterretzbach, Austria, 2018.
Lucky Mojo Records LC28941
