Sheena Davis Group - Matchmaker

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:26
Size: 121,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:02)  1. Jamie's Grin
(5:09)  2. You Don't Know Me
(4:34)  3. Close Your Eyes
(3:31)  4. Matchmaker, Matchmaker
(3:50)  5. Cheek To Cheek
(3:45)  6. At the Start
(5:24)  7. Just For A Thrill
(4:45)  8. Almost Like Being in Love
(4:12)  9. Let's Face the Music
(4:40) 10. Perfidia
(3:35) 11. Spring In My Step
(4:52) 12. Shboom

Vocalist Sheena Davis is one of the UK's leading jazz vocalists and her band, the Sheena Davis Group, has become established as one of Britain's most exciting jazz ensembles. Davis first came to the attention of the jazz world as vocalists with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Since leaving NYJO in 1998 she has impressed with her stunning vocal ability, her musicality and sheer energy, and her innate sense of swing and dynamic voice.

Davis's new CD is based around the jazz standards to which she has added three original compositions, as well as re-workings of songs associated with the modern popular songbook. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchmaker-Sheena-Davis-Group/dp/B000BHAO3U

Personnel: Sheena Davis - vocals, Robert Rickenberg - bass, Tom Pilling - piano, keyboard, Stephen Rushton – drums, Nigel Price - guitar, Derek Nash - tenor saxophone, Steve Vintner - vibes.

Matchmaker

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Sheena Davis Group - Young At Heart

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:06
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:30)  1. Young at Heart
(3:30)  2. It Must Be Love
(4:57)  3. Seasonal Memories
(3:07)  4. Got A Feeling
(3:30)  5. I Cried for You
(5:51)  6. Sentimental Journey
(3:54)  7. Sway
(5:16)  8. Only You
(4:07)  9. Up On The Roof
(1:58) 10. When I Grow Too Old To Dream
(4:02) 11. But Hey! That's Love
(5:18) 12. When You Wish Upon a Star

In his liner notes for the second album by the Sheena Davis Group, Richard Niles of BBC Radio 2 praises songstress Davis’s “perfect intonation, groove-laden emotive phrasing, charming vibrato and tone as clear as a cloudless sky.” Having given the group’s earlier album a generally lukewarm review, I’d say this one is roughly its equivalent. While Davis does have some sharp tools to work with, she remains a work in progress, sounding bright and confident on some numbers (“I Cried for You,” “Only You,” “When I Grow Too Old to Dream”) but less inspired on others, including the title selection, whose reading left me unmoved, as did the ballads “Sentimental Journey“ and “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The “perfect intonation” is in evidence much of the time but articulation can and does present a problem, especially at faster tempos (“Got a Feeling,” “Sway,“ “It Must Be Love”).

Davis and bassist Robert Rickenberg co-wrote “Seasonal Memories,” "Got a Feeling” and “But Hey! That’s Love,” and they’re pleasant enough tunes but no more than that. Rickenberg and drummer Pete Cater, both back from the earlier album, and Steve Holness, replacing fellow NYJO alumnus Tom Cawley at the piano, comprise a sturdy and empathetic back-up crew. Another returnee, guitarist Jim Mullen, blends in nicely on “It Must Be Love,” "Sentimental Journey” and “But Hey! That’s Love,” while another talented guest, trumpeter Guy Barker, is heard on “Seasonal Memories,” “I Cried for You” and “Only You.”  Returning to the liner notes, I’ve long wondered about their purpose. Is it promotional or informational? Niles begins his by asking, “Will anyone buy this record? More specifically, will you buy this record?” Well, if one is reading the liner notes he or she must have already done so, or else received a comp copy, as we reviewers do. So what’s the point of asking? Just thought I’d ask. As to whether the record is worth investigating, my answer would be a qualified yes, as the pluses do outweigh the minuses and it is by and large an enjoyable session, as was the group’s earlier album, Smile. ~ Jack Bowers  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/young-at-heart-sheena-davis-jazzizit-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Sheena Davis, vocals; Steve Holness, piano; Robert Rickenberg, bass; Pete Cater, drums.

Young At Heart

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Sheena Davis Group - Smile

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:31
Size: 115,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:59)  1. It Might As Well Rain Until September
(5:00)  2. Smile
(3:43)  3. Dancing Leaf
(3:46)  4. Beyond the Sea
(4:49)  5. I'm Into Something Good
(2:40)  6. Three Little Words
(6:52)  7. Travelin' light
(4:36)  8. Forever Autumn
(3:27)  9. Orange Colored Sky
(4:48) 10. My Guy
(2:04) 11. Sum de Dum Do
(3:41) 12. The Very Thought Of You

I really wish I could become more enthusiastic about this album. Sheena Davis is a very good singer, and her accompanists are about as solid as Gibraltar. But when it comes to vocalists I’m a tough sell, and in spite of her obvious assets a well–trained voice, adequate range, admirable intonation Davis somehow fails to impress, because like many other young singers she’s trying too hard to do so. In other words, I can hear her working at it, and I shouldn’t be able to, nor should you. Without making any comparisons, which would be patently unfair, one of the things I loved about, say, Frank Sinatra or Mel Torme (and still love about Rosie Clooney) is that one almost never hears them working to impress. They simply sing, and the emotion flows naturally from within some wellspring of life and experience. Perhaps their choice of material has something to do with that, but Davis has made some splendid choices on Smile, not the least of which is the title selection itself, which she interprets in the breathily theatrical way she evidently fancies on ballads (such as “Travelin’ Light,” “Forever Autumn,” “The Very Thought of You” and, to some extent, Petula Clark’s hit, “My Guy”). 

Davis does write a good tune, having collaborated with bassist Robert Rickenberg on two of the album’s highlights, “Dancing Leaf” and “Dum de Dum Do” (which is much better than its name indicates). After singing / scatting through that one at breakneck speed, Davis reveals a keen sense of humor with the closing remark, “I’m not doing that one again.” Must have been a first take! The session opens in a charming groove with “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” which shows how talented her back–up crew is (stalwart support from Rickenberg, pianist Tom Cawley and drummer Pete Cater, topnotch solos by Cawley and Rickenberg). Guitarist Jim Mullen sits in on “Smile,” “Something Good,” “Three Little Words” and “Forever Autumn,” and raises the ante on every hand he’s dealt. Mullen is a consistently sharp improviser, as is Cawley. But this is a vocal album, and it is Davis who bears the lion’s share of responsibility for its success or lack thereof. While one listener remains essentially unmoved, his could well be a minority opinion. As we conceded at the outset, Davis is a very good singer, and her album may cause many less finicky music–lovers to smile quite often. ~ Jack Bowers  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/smile-jazzizit-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Sheena Davis, vocals; Tom Cawley, piano; Rob Rickenberg, bass; Pete Cater, drums. Special guest Jim Mullen, guitar.

Smile

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