Left Coast Life

Kitty Margolis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 16, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mad Kat
• ASIN: B00005QZMT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,075 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you!, April 6, 2002

By 

"[e-mail]" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Left Coast Life (Audio CD)

With much jazz singing, particularly of the corporate variety, going in a distinctly retro and even cabaret direction, it's great to see Kitty Margolis keeping the spirit of innovation alive. This is a beautiful recording, full of surprises, humor and emotion.

It's a very different kind of jazz singing, not intended to be pleasant background music during cocktail hour. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy pleasant background music as much as the next person, but sometimes I want more out of jazz, and Kitty Margolis certainly delivers. Just listen to her on "You just might get it," her own tongue-in-cheek indictment of the excesses of the dotcom boom and bust in San Francisco and elsewhere. You can almost feel Les McCann and Eddie Harris smiling in the wings.

Her takes on "Money" and "Lonely at the top" are witty, sardonic, and sophisticated, and her ballads consistently devastating. Tom Waits' "Take it with me" is awesome, and "Spring will be a little late" is a jewel, with shimmering acoustic guitar and cello. Throughout, Kitty's voice moves with the greatest of ease from poignant to powerful, nasty to sweet, innocent to world weary and amazingly she sounds totally authentic on every tune. She sings what she means, and it comes through on every song. She really is an amazing talent.

I couldn't recommend this more--it's a complete breath of fresh air in a genre that could certainly use it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare pleasure, January 21, 2002

By 

Peter Ainsley (London, England

London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Left Coast Life (Audio CD)

It's not often that I have the pleasure of hearing a recording like this, these days. Kitty Margolis has given us a rare treat with Left Coast Life. It is innovative, moving, fun, and in many ways, a really unique performance.

The level of musicianship is excellent throughout, and the production is superb. The choice of songs is provocative and intelligent. It ranges from the deeply touching ballads Spring Will be a Little Late and Take it With Me to the biting, thoughtful social criticism of Money, Lonely at the Top, and the brilliant original song You Just Might Get It.

Kitty Margolis is undoubtedly in top form here, and hearing her sing is one of the great pleasures in jazz today. She elegantly walks that tightrope between being able to entertain and at the same time give us music that not only bears repeated listenings, but also stands out as an example on the many directions not only vocal jazz, but jazz in general can go in.

Her music is infused with elements of Latin, Funk, Pop, and World music, but Kitty Margolis is an artst with deep jazz roots, and the improvisational qualities, and the harmonic and rhythmic complexity that lie at the heart of jazz are never lost. You never get the feeling that she's experimenting for the sake of it, or trying to cross over. Every song has integrity and coherence, and throughout you can hear how every arrangement supports a heartfelt interpretation of the song.

Kitty's singing throughout is exceptional. She is one of the few singers today who can really put across joie de vivre in jazz singing, of the kind you could feel in Ella Fitzgerald, someone who could make you feel happy becuase you could feel how much singing made her happy. On this recording you can really hear how singing makes Kitty happy, and she makes us happy in the process.

Her voice glides effortlessly across fast tempos, digging in beautifully and showing roots in bop that few singers today can claim. At the same time, her ballad singing is better than ever. Unpretentious, unmannered, it just comes from the heart, and I'm not surprised one reviewer cries every time on hearing Spring Will be a Little Late. This is jazz singing--or any kind of singing--at its best. This is the reason I listen to music, because of the way a recording like this can make me feel.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Kitty!, November 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Left Coast Life (Audio CD)

Kitty is sublime on this CD. I've had it playing constantly on my CD player since the day I got it. As the first reviewer said, the music takes you through a whole range of moods, from soulful and sad to happy and joyful. There's a tongue-in-cheek element to some of the songs (Just Might Get it and Lonely at the Top), with a dose of social commentary that is refreshing ad unusual in jazz vocals today.

The arrangements are inspired and the playing is excellent throughout. But Kitty's amazing voice is really the spellbinding core of the music. Her scatting on Without a Song is amazing, and on songs like Spring Will be a Little Late and Tom Waits' Take it With Me she will literally move you to tears. Her version of Pink Floyd's Money is a sensuous, trippy gem. Worth buying the album just to hear that. Undoubtedly Kitty's best yet--and straight to the top of my all-time favorite list.