Musicians: Claudia Schmidt (vocals); Jeff
Beavan (bass); Dave Ksycki (drums);
Steve Little (guitar, vocal on trk 2);
Dave Schock (trumpet, flugelhorn);
Steve Stargardt (piano).
Review: Hot on the heels of her first jazz CD, “Live At The Old Rectory Pub”, Claudia Schmidt has released a “studio session” with her quintet. The singer has recorded eleven albums in various styles during her twenty-six years as a professional entertainer.
The choice of material is diverse and spans decades of standards and seldom heard pieces including Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s “My Ship” which was sung in the 1940’s by Gertrude Lawrence. The writing of Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz is represented by their 1937 hit “By Myself.” Claudia adds one of her own compositions in the form of “Love Is The Strongest Thing”, a very bluesy ballad enhanced by the piano of Steve Stargardt and swingin’ trumpet by Dave Schock. Schmidt’s husky and powerful voice is well adapted to the blues style. Her up-tempo treatment of “How High The Moon” shows Claudia’s ability to scat with the best of them.
This CD is a wonderful marriage of an exciting vocalist with a great quintet resulting in a very classy session. I really enjoyed the delicate delivery of “I Thought About You” in contrast with the hot and sassy groove on “Fever.”
Claudia Schmidt and the Jumpboys certainly deserve your attention. DJ’s should consider giving this CD a spin.
JazzReview.com
