Thursday, 7 July 2016

Wendy Lanchin - Walking After Midnight


Rating: 5/5

Review:
A fine debut



Wendy Lanchin is a veteran of the North London jazz scene, but this is her first CD.  I think it's an excellent debut; it's a little outside my normal repertoire, but I really like it.

The music is quite eclectic.  Lanchin has chosen some jazz standards like the title track and My One And Only, but there is a wide range of material here from composers like Tom Waits, Kirsty MacColl, Suzanne Vega and others, and it makes for a really good, varied programme.

Wendy Lanchin is a fine singer with a lovely, flexible voice which is often a sort of dark velvet in texture – and I think she sounds simply fabulous in lower registers.  She has a real ability to put the songs over, and I think she has extremely classy phrasing and the ability to time and hit those difficult notes absolutely spot on and make them sound utterly natural.  Her fellow musicians are also excellent and very sympathetic to both the music and Lanchin's voice.  It's very well arranged and produced, so from the smoky, sultry Angel Eyes or Head through a lovely version of He Moved Through The Fair to the sexy swing of  Temptation, I find it all a real pleasure.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of fine songs, very well performed.  What more could you ask for, really? Very warmly recommended.

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