Featured Artist: Sheila Cooper

CD Title: Tales of Love and Longing

Year: 2008

Record Label: Candid Records

Style: Straight-Ahead / Classic

Musicians: Sheila Cooper – vocals and alto saxophone, Fritz Pauer – piano

Review:

Classic jazz singer and saxophonist Sheila Cooper collaborates with Austrian pianist Fritz Pauer for her third studio album Tales of Love and Longing as a vocalist, saxophonist and arranger.  Produced by Cooper and Andy Middleton, the album is a collection of jazz standards written by such icons as Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Ornette Coleman, Hoagy Carmichael and a number of others with one original tune “I Gravitate To You” penned by Sheila Cooper.  Cooper sings with immense compassion for the souls that these songs were written about as her saxophone provides a cozy blanket around their bodies.  Pauer’s piano keys trigger a force that coalesces with Cooper’s vocals like a debonair netting.   His jet streams fondle, caress, and waddle projecting an array of sensations from bluesy-soul dirges to engaging show-pony hops.  The album delivers exactly what it says it does, jazz tunes reflective of love stories and tales of longing for a love that has been lost and turned to dust.  Tales of Love and Longing is an album that is sure to please through all seasons.

From the start, Cooper displays the vocal elegance of Billie Holiday as the tenderness of Pauer’s piano keys illuminates tunes like “Winter Moon” and “He Is Funny That Way” with a lover’s glow.  The mood is contemplative and mellow and creates a classic evening jazz ambience with bluesy-soul illustrations canvassing “I’m A Fool To Want You” and “I Didn’t Know About You,” which makes you feels for the weeping lyrics.  The melodies are sparse but Cooper’s vocals are generously emotional casting reflective shadows that deepen the melodies dimensions.  The toe tapping piano keys and cardinal-winged saxophone sweeps of “How Deep Is The Ocean” have cheery bebop strokes as the bluesy-soul pomp of “Lonely Woman” has a graceful span while Cooper’s vocals spread across the entire melodic field.  Her register shines with the dark luster of garnet gems memorable in her own tune “I Gravitate To You.”  The free flowing riffs of “Body and Soul” and “So In Love” produce a nighttime mist with an Odalisque sensuality and finessed movements.  The album concludes by creating a soft melodic ointment for “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” and wrapping the collection of standards up in a tight bundle.

The songs of Tales of Love and Longing are tamed in Cooper’s grip with the alluring glow of classic nighttime jazz.  Born and raised in Canada, Sheila Cooper was trained in classic music.  She moved to New York City where she played alongside international musicians like David Liebman, Clark Terry and Billy Drummond.  She appeared in the Broadway production of Cabaret as an actress, saxophonist and vocalist.  She currently live in Vienna, Austria and is entrenched in the country’s music culture steep in classic jazz.

Tracks:

Winter Moon, He’s Funny that Way, I’m A Fool To Want You, I Didn’t Know About You, How Deep Is The Ocean, Lonely Woman, I Gravitate To You, Body And Soul, So In Love, A Kiss To Build A Dream On

Record Label Website: http://www.candidrecords.com

Artist's Website: http://www.sheilacooper.com

Listen or Buy: www.amazon.com/Tales-Longing-Sheila-Cooper-Fritz/dp/B000Y9PHXM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?i

Reviewed by: Susan Frances

Click here for printer-friendly version of review.

Send this page to a friend.