Jacintha Here's To Ben: A Vocal Tribute To Ben Webster CD

mainstream, traditional jazz vocals feat. back-up by a saxophone quartet - the songs are well-known standards & ballads, inc. "Georgia On My Mind," "Stardust," "Danny Boy" & others

Personnel: Jacintha (vocals); Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone); Kei Akagi (piano); Darek Oles (bass); Larance Marable (drums).
Includes liner notes by Bill Kohlhaase.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc) technology.
This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.
Personnel: Jacintha (vocals); Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone); Kei Akagi (piano); Darek Oles (bass); Larance Marable (drums).
Includes liner notes by Bill Kohlhaase.
Personnel: Jacintha (vocals); Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone); Kei Akagi (piano); Larance Marable (drums).
Liner Note Author: Bill Kohlhaase.
Recording information: 1998.
Photographer: Joseph d'Alessio.
When you link your musical objective to a jazz icon like Ben Webster, certain expectations are created and, as here, rarely are these expectations met. Certainly, Jacintha sings songs Webster played, and she sings them very nicely. But there's none of the raspy timbre in her voice that made Webster's saxophone immediately recognizable. Jacintha confuses raspy with singing softly. She and the producers would have been better served by presenting these songs as hers, not Webster's. The focus then would be where it belongs (i.e., what she does with these classics). With excellent pitch, good diction, and sensitive interpretations of the lyrics, she makes these songs her own. One highlight is her a cappella treatment of "Danny Boy." Throughout the session, Jacintha receives solid support from veteran Teddy Edwards' blues-drenched saxophone (he's a lot closer to Webster than Jacintha is). He and Jacintha work well together, as on "How Long Has This Been Going On?" The venerable drummer Larance Marable and bass player Darek Oles combine to lay a solid, sensitive foundation for the proceedings. Oles' bass is especially prominent on "Over the Rainbow." Former Miles Davis pianist Kei Akagi is a capable accompanist. This album is a solid enough effort solely on the strength of Jacintha's natural talent. The obeisance to Webster was not only unnecessary, but distracting. ~ Dave Nathan

JazzTimes (5/00, pp.169-70) - "...A straightforward, classically trained singer who attains backing from deft instrumentalists....she holds promise as a balladeer with the wholesome, delicate, sweetly emotional style reminiscent of Doris Day."
JazzTimes (5/00, pp.169-70) - "...A straightforward, classically trained singer who attains backing from deft instrumentalists....she holds promise as a balladeer with the wholesome, delicate, sweetly emotional style reminiscent of Doris Day."