Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living)

Veronneau (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Veronneau Music
• ASIN: B004VC3UUK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,322 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Infectious Joy of Living, July 17, 2011

By 

Jean-claude Elias (Amman, Jordan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living) (Audio CD)

Infectious Joy of Living by Veronneau

By Jean-Claude Elias

Joie de Vivre (Joy of Living) is an album of sparkling sound of fine jazz-pop, amazingly interpreted by a vocalist with a lot of flair and savoir-faire. She is accompanied by a small group of seasoned instrumentalists doing just about the right thing to enhance the beauty of the songs, discreetly, elegantly. It's a selection of ten superb covers aimed to please and to make you feel happy, relaxed, and that perfectly succeeds doing so.

French Canadian Lynn Véronneau creates the virtually perfect blend of easy jazz and sophisticated pop, with a zest of Latin music. All numbers are sung in English, except for Cielito Lindo that is done in Spanish and the opening track La Mer, sung in French. The French song starts with Véronneau whistling the theme from Blue Moon for a few introductory bars, only to shift into singing La Mer, Charles Trenet's megahit from the late 1940s, a song that has been covered more than 400 times in several languages but mainly in English and in French. The artist proves that the chords and the rhythm of Blue Moon and La Mer, two songs that apparently have nothing to do with each other, go very well together.

For No One, a Lennon-McCartney Beatles song is transformed into a gentle ballad with a sweet bossa-nova beat. More bossa-nova is served on the next track, Corcovado, this one an original bossa, and a classic by Brazilian master Jobim.

On the Street Where you Live, a tune from the My Fair Lady musical brings another transformation. It is changed from its original orchestral arrangement into a gypsy jazz swinging piece with the typical acoustic guitar strumming that usually is associated with the genre, a bit a la Django Reinhardt.

Véronneau also takes on songs like One Note Samba, another classic by Jobim, Blue Skies, The Gentle Rain, Cielito Lindo and Brazil. The adaptation with new arrangements of all the songs is very well, very smartly done. It brings something new without destroying the original beauty of the pieces. And it serves Véronneau style rather well, allowing her to do excellent renditions.

If the music is superb it is definitely the voice of Véronneau that makes a difference. She sings with what I call smooth power, and with natural ease. Well balanced between the lows and the highs, singing with restraint and obviously with some serious experience gained over the years, the vocalist brings a welcome change from the dullness of most current jazz-pop productions. Thank God Véronneau does not need to shout like so many vocalists do it today to let us know that she can sing!

The language accent also is pleasant with this little charming English-French twist that many Canadian singers are graced with; again, it remains fairly subtle. Véronneau has a clear phrasing in the delivery of the lyrics, one that puts her on a par with the best jazz performers and that is very convincing; very moving by moments. The lady genuinely feels the words she is saying, she means them, which of course is an essential trait in the art of singing. Her vibrato is light and classy, never overdone.

Tribute must be paid to the accompanying musicians. From the drums of Pete Walby and the guitar of David Rosenblatt to the backing vocals and the guitar of Ken Avis (Véronneau's husband), not forgetting the precious contribution of violinist Dave Kline and saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk, the band plays excellent music.

There is no mention of bass guitar on the CD's notes. Indeed, listening closely to the album does not reveal any apparent bass sound, except perhaps for some soft bass lines that might have been played by Avis or Rosenblatt on acoustic six-string. Surprisingly the lack of loud bass does not affect the sound in any negative way, and besides, this is no pumping-bass dancing pop material!

The album was recorded in the US in Virginia where the artist now lives. Véronneau started singing very young, ever since her childhood days in Sherbrooke in the suburbs of Montreal. Her influences include musicians for various genres and cultures: Ella Fitzgerald, Annie Lennox, the Beatles, Joe Dassin and Beau Dommage to name only a few.

There are no new songs on the album, they all are covers, and the entire set is unpretentious. It is very well done, particularly pleasant to listen to, and I'd play it anytime instead of a mediocre production of original songs.