Customer Reviews

Lazy Afternoon

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

 

 

Five HUGE Stars!!! Elin is a wonderful Sweden-born, New York-based singer/songwriter who is SENSATIONAL on this chart-making debut CD. She fell in love with Brazilian music and the culture as a teen, learned Brazilian Portuguese, and lived in Rio for a while. Formally educated, she is no stranger to the singing venues of the world from Sweden to Brazil to Miami to New York and beyond. Her performances here of Brazilian music and straight-ahead jazz display flawless time and dazzling technique as she nails Portuguese phrases and creates jazzy scenarios. She also sings in English and Spanish on this CD, displaying three of her five fluent languages. And when they walked into this studio, she and her cohorts were READY to make some special music. This disc has received great reviews from jazz radio DJs and the esteemed 'Downbeat' magazine. BTW, "Elin" is pronounced "e-ah-LEEN' " spoken quickly.

Her lovely honey-toned voice is used as an instrument which goes from slow ballads ("Lush Life") to smoking sambas ("Casa Forte") to 'cuica'-imitation ("Aquarela do Brasil") to vocalese gymnastics ("Doralice") within her well-defined range. This CD has a group of exceptionally-arranged songs bolstered by jazz soloists of power and imagination. I love singers who can hold their own and graciously share solo time.

The 'Pieces De Resistance", the best of the best, begin with a sizzling treatment of "Fascinating Rhythm" in English as a samba that jumps to "Telefone" in Portuguese to 'scat'-ing and it totally works (kudos to Elin and the clarinet player). "Lazy Afternoon" swings away from Brasil as a straight-ahead commendable ballad (lush vocal from Elin & great flugelhorn from Claudio Roditi), and she swings it right back to Brazil with hip sambas: her own "I Love New York" and a fun "Aquarela Do Brasil". Elin's second lovely composition "La Luna" is in Spanish & heats up vocally as it goes, with two smoking 'Getz-ian' tenor sax solos, leaving us wanting more.

The late Brazilian super-diva Elis Regina's influence is strong on this CD and Elin has the subtle power and technique to both pay homage to Regina and use her music as a springboard for individualistic vocalizing. This is seen in the case of the extended treatment of the wordless "Casa Forte" (love the hot cello work behind her) and the AWESOME ballad and baião treatment of "Vera Cruz", which was originally a short Elis Regina tour-de-force. Elin shows her familiarity with Regina's version then expands on it TWICE with fresh Portuguese nuances, extending the performance to over 6 minutes of wonderful, emotional vocalizing and instrumental solos (Claudio Roditi makes a second stunning appearance on flugelhorn ). "Vera Cruz" can best be described as pure 'ear & brain candy'. Bravo, Elin! This is a wonderful, sensational debut. More, please! Highly Recommended!! Five ENJOYABLE Stars!!

(Notes:
*This review is based on an ITunes musical download.
*Sweden is a hotbed of musical excellence, much like Brasil, but there are a number of singers using the name "Elin". Our Brazilian/jazz "Elin" is using only one name as her stage name, but others such as Elin Sigvardsson, Elin Ruth, and model Elin Lanto are also out there, so buy carefully, although they are also excellent vocalists. Keep your eyes (and ears) on Swedish music.
* Elis Regina's short but incredible version of "Vera Cruz", with it's hairpin twists and turns, can be heard on the 'FIve Star' CD "Como & Porque".)

Elin has a beautiful way of making every song her own. That is the result that some musicians spend a lifetime mastering, but she grabs onto a tune and drinks down the lyrics in a way that shows it is second-nature to her.
The Brazilian tunes, especially, flow perfectly.
A great cd for jazz enthusiasts and neophyte listeners alike.

Lazy Afternoon is the aptfully titled debut album from the gifted and beautiful jazz vocalist/composer by the name of Elin. Sung in no less than three languages, and featuring a wide-array of musicians, Lazy Afternoon is undeniably the incarnation of both jazz and pleasure.

"When listening to Lazy Afternoon, I couldn't help but feeling as though each song was secretly written with Elin's voice in mind."--Brian Ball, Music Editor

Starting off with an upbeat marriage of Brazilian and American jazz, "Fascinating Rhythm/Telefone" is a fun-loving, care-free melodic number that sets the mood for the rest to come.

"Aquarela do Brasil" begins with vocal callouts sounding similar to that of an owl, which subtly change into a more early-primate sound. It is interesting to hear the instruments match these wild sounds as the "Unofficial Brazilian National Anthem" is given Elin's own unique interpretation here on Lazy Afternoon.

Another of our favorites from the album is a Bossa Nova song entitled, "Bonita". As the lyrics denote, "Bonita" is like a "soft evasive mist" bringing a fantastic horn and acoustic guitar combination to life with love.

Elin continues to warm our hearts with a song she has written both the music and lyrics for, "La Luna". The lusciously-spoken Spanish vocals roll off her tongue with the greatest of ease, as the seductive bass and percussion build to create a massive groove during this lover's dance theme.

As an electronic musician, and after hearing the prevalent use of sampling in 21st century music, I can only say that if I didn't know any better, this song could have easily jumped out of a dusty record bin from the 60's and is just waiting to be sampled!! So producers... Get your SP-1200's and MPC's ready!

The final song on Lazy Afternoon, "Casa Forte" starts out with an inimitable disco-inspired form of jazz, followed by Elin's inventive scat-styled vocal instrumentation. This thick groove sees the layers slowly peeling back, until we are left with only percussion. Again, Elin's masterful voice shines brightly and leads us back into full form, allowing the album a very strong finish.

"With its cautiously-shy beauty, it is very easy to become captured in the `gaze' of this album."--Brian Ball, Music Editor

I purchased the CD for my Husband for Christmas, he has liked all the selections so far.