Customer Reviews

It's All Right With Me

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Delaware born, Harvard educated, Sara Lazarus has lived in France and performed in Europe for the last two decades. By my count, "it's all right with me," is Ms Lazarus' third and most recent album.

Ms Lazarus has a pleasing mid-register, slightly brassy, contralto voice with a little smoke at the lower end of the scale. She phrases and articulates well, and she has a relaxed, swinging delivery.

"it's all right with me," is a set of mostly standards, including: "Taking a Chance on Love," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Embraceable You" and "The Way You Look Tonight." Ms Lazarus also takes on the classic "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" - which in my mind is "owned" by Frank Sinatra - let's just say that Ms Lazarus comes out in second place - but I give her credit for nerve. Putting aside "In the Wee...," Ms Lazarus handles these songs easily.

Ms Lazarus is backed by the Bireli Lagrene Gypsy Project, featuring Mr Lagrene and Hono Winterstein on guitars, Diego Imbert on bass and drummer Andre Ceccarelli, (on three songs, the Project is augmented by a string section). Mr Lagrene is a Django Reinhardt-style, "hot" guitarist - so the "instrumentation" on "it's all right with me" is a little unusual - but it all works surprisingly well - Ms Lazarus and the Project are a good match.

The sonics on "it's all right with me" are excellent: clear, clean and precise.

The pairing of Bireli Lagrene with Sara Lazurus is sheer genius! What a phenomenal duo! You can hear Sara's smile through every word she sings. And what can one say about Bireli Lagrene that hasn't already been said - He tells lively, vibrant stories through his guitar that puts a smile on your face and a tap in your foot! Buy this CD and any others where these to are paired together - they're truly something special!

I Love this Album. The selection of songs are varied and Impeccable

Bireli Lagrene Plays Amazing. If you Like Jazz, And enjoy Django Style

Guitar, then this is Mandatory

Dennis

An excellent addition to any jazz collection. I cannot wait to hear more of her future offerings. I saw her first at the Berkeley School of Music over the lunch concerts that they give and her voice has matured very nicely. Choice of songs and interpretation also add to any jazz library.

I have been looking forward to Sara's next album for some time;if it's half as good as this- or 'The Simple Life',it'll be another one that's tough to play just once,as is the case with the Cole Porter classic tune 'It's All Right With Me'.

Her voice is one of those 'one of a kind,effortless' talents;the same with guitarist Birelli Lagrene.