Vocalist Ruthie Culver has attracted some criticism for casting her stylistic net too wide but for me this is one of this album’s strengths. Culver covers a number of jazz standards but there is other, more interesting material here too which hints at future possible directions.

A committed environmentalist Culver brings an element of her socio-political concerns into her music, again hinting at areas for future investigation. Musically the material here positively benefits from the unusual arrangements deployed by Culver and her musical director and bassist Jonny Gee.

Joining Gee on the album are Culver’s regular band members Dan Hewson (keyboards) and Andrea Trillo (drums), with guest appearances from trumpeter Fulvio Sigurta, saxophonists Mick Foster (soprano) and Ian Marcus (tenor/flute) plus the great Roberto Pla on timbales and congas.

“How Little We Know” and “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” introduce Culver and her core trio and are fairly average standards fare. Culver has a clear, pure voice and is adept at jazz phrasing. She also gives her musicians sufficient room to make their own statements but it is the later material that really grabs the attention.

“If I Should Lose You” is given a “chill out funk” arrangement (Culver’s phrase), a novel treatment of a song dating from 1936. Hewson appears on electric keyboards and guest Mick Foster excels on lyrical soprano sax.

“Munchhausen (Liar,Liar)” is the first of two cabaret style numbers from Weimar Germany. Freidrich Hollander’s lyrics are quirky and witty and in some aspects still disturbingly topical. The song is given a sparkling treatment by Culver and her group. Great stuff.

Culver’s own “The Perfect Dress” introduces her own socio political concerns, tackling the evils of consumerism and globalisation and making a persuasive case for ethical shopping. A busy arrangement includes Ian Marcus’ tenor and the peerless Pla on Latin percussion.

“Hymne A L’Amour” sees Culver and Gee updating Edith Piaf with bossa and samba rhythms. With Culver singing in both English and French it’s surprisingly effective.

A second Weimar number, Brecht and Eisler’s “To A Little Radio”, is also bilingual with Culver singing the first verse in German. It is brief and disturbing, a chilling reminder of the 1930’s.

This is followed by the equally sinister “Strange” which adds Grace Jones’ lyric (telling the tale of a stalker) to the music of Astor Piazzolla’s “Libertango”. Fulvio Sigurta’s trumpet adds subtle colour to the arrangement and Trillo’s drum shadings also make a significant contribution to the claustrophobic atmosphere.

Sigurta appears again on the samba treatment of “On The Street Where You Live” and although I enjoyed his solo I was less convinced by the piece as a whole. The same goes for the Latin arrangement of “Old Devil Moon” despite some sparkling piano from Hewson and more good work from Trillo.

“Mean To Me” comes with a consciously retro swing arrangement featuring Sigurta’s breezy,  bright toned trumpet and another strong contribution from Hewson.

“Ballad Of the Sad Young Men” closes the album on a sombre note. The sparse arrangement (for piano and bass only) focuses the attention on Culver’s pure and heartfelt vocal. Simple but beautiful it is one of the album’s highlights.

“Refashioned” is something of an uneven album but parts of it are very good indeed. Even when some of the arrangements don’t quite come off it should be borne in mind that Culver is taking an adventurous approach to things.

On the whole it is the less familiar material that is the most successful and it would be interesting to hear her move further away from jazz standards and perhaps concentrate more on her own material. She is clearly an independent spirit who should have much to say.

blog comments powered by Disqus