Customer Reviews

A Moments Glance

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased this CD and I was totally underwhelmed. Hardy's tone is bland, her singing is lifeless and her musical approach is "by-the-numbers" jazz. Hardy does not swing and her improvisations are dull. On CD she is less than mediocre, and on stage, she is markedly worse. Her leaden approach to each song is a hapless drone that even Philip Glass would find monotonous.

Let me explain how this CD is similar to efforts made by talentless people like Mrs. Miller who made a complete and utter fool of herself publicly, and Tiny Tim, another goof singer who tip-toed through the tulips for a moment or two. Time was the true test of their alleged artistry. What Mrs. Miller and Tiny Tim left behind were their hideous vocals, so that generation after generation could continue to shake their heads in wonder and ask themselves "What the heck were these people thinking?"

I would like to believe that Mrs. Miller and Tiny Tim did not take themselves seriously. This, however, is where the similarity ends. Hardy is serious.

Mrs. Miller and Tiny Tim used up more than 15 minutes of their allotted fame. "A Moment's Glance" is the sound of Hardy depleting hers.

As an addendum to the aforementioned comments I made in 2005, I would also like to point out that there are duplicate glowing reviews on AMAZON for this truly tedious album. Please see the reviews of jazz1"serge" and of ScJeannet "jazz1". Both these reviews, which are totally identical, were posted shortly after I had posted mine. The review by Jazz knight "charles" also appears to be written by the same hand.

Furthermore, do look at the dates the 7 glowing reviews were posted and observe how these all were crafted within the span of 3 days, all on the heels of my published critical comments.

In my opinion, these appear to be written by either the singer herself or by her friends for the possible purpose of distracting the potential buyer from the fact that this album is unequivocally dreadful, and for the probable ploy of artificially improving this album's AMAZON rating.

All one needs to do to validate my claims is to:

(1) listen to the audio clips above,

(2) observe how many actual customers chimed in to disagree with the unwarrantedly stellar reviews of this sub-standard unmusical effort; and,

(3) check where Hardy's singing career stands years after this debut, despite any "well-thought out (sic) review .... in the June issue of JazzTimes."

I got this CD as a gift and it was difficult to get through one listening. I do not understand how this album has gotten so many rave reviews from customers.

I have heard this singer at 55 Bar in NYC 2 years ago. Her latest recording shows that little improvement has been made since then. It is shocking to me that this person teaches a class on jazz singing. Hardy has no sense of time, and her superficial scat singing makes me wince.
A singer with this low level of musicianship should not attempt to scat.
A travesty.

I was surfing through this site and I bought this CD along with the second album of this same singer based on the positive reviews I read here about her debut recording. I was hoping that the positive reviews I read were truthful and helpful. As much as I would have liked to enjoy this singer, I was disappointed. This singer has a very limited range. The tracks in this recording sound similar and they are not at all interesting. She does wordless songs that I could not bear to listen to and that I had to skip. I absolutely adore Lennon and McCartney's music, but the first track, And I Love Him, was not interesting. The song did not arc and nothing new or fresh was added in the arrangement.

Bought this cd a couple of years ago. Listened to it once--didn't make it through all the tracks--and put it on the shelf. I ran across it again the other day and thought I'd give it another try. Again I found myself hitting the fast forward button.

As a jazz aficionado, I follow the careers of probably 50 female jazz singers with interest. I have to say, Ms. Hardy will not be one of them. It's already been said...limited range, bland timing, a flat, almost unpleasant timbre, terrible falsetto, weak scat. There's more criticism, but that's more than enough. Sorry Julie. I really wanted to like you. I won't be trying to listen to it a third time.

First and foremost be warned Julie Hardy is a real jazz singer, if you are looking for something similar to Norah Jones or Diana Krall this cd maybe a little bit of a shock to you. On the other hand if your tastes are a little more adventurous then it is highly recommended.
First the choice of tunes is a mix of standards, and originals and it also contains the Lennon McCartney song "And I love him"
Julie is a singer-musician, she is part of the band, in actual fact her improvisations seems to have a similar approach to her saxophonist Rob Stillman.
The mix of tunes is really clever, the change of pace and tempos are just perfect
and makes the cd enjoyable and stimulating from beginning to end.
Make no mistakes Julie can sing standards and especially ballads with great conviction, the first time I heard "My haunted heart" I could not believe that such a young person could be so convincing and sing with such passion.
It may well be that this number is my favorite track of the cd.
Actually I am still trying to remember who else sings this song so beautifully???
To be honest with you I still cannot think of a better version of this song.
Another song I love is one of Julie's original "At the moment's glance" which is also
the title track. Apparently Fred Hersh and Norma Winstone inspired it, well I do know Fred and Norma cd and Julie seems to create the same slightly eerie feel.
With this composition, in actual fact at one stage I thought that he reminded me ofNorma Winstone singing Jimmy Rowles "The Peacock"
AS far as the band, this is a first class outfit of the highest order, they are tight and yet loose enough to make great jazz.
My conclusion!! A great jazz cd, definitely on my list for top jazz vocal cd for 2005.
If you love real jazz vocal, get it.

I agree with the reviews which say that Julie is a true jazz singer. I think there is
a wonderful sense of adventure and interesting 'play' involved with the vocals & the band. Hers is certainly a contemporary approach (& voice): she is an instrument in an ensemble. And very subtle & talented musicians here IMO, maybe particular the fluid rhythms of Ben Street on bass & Adam Cruz on drums, & Randy Ingram's understated but complex piano, but the others too. I also like the wordless ones which I think are effective tributes to Luciana Souza & Norma Winstone, without copying them. "A Moment's Glance"-- the song--is def. a new chapter in a kind of jazz writing begun by Norma Winstone (thinking of "A Timeless Place--The Peacocks", but others too), which I for one am very glad to see. And I love the group's wonderful expansive take on the Beatles's "And I Love Her" & Schwartz/Dietz's "Haunted Heart" (I admit a favorite song-- I always like that!). I don't feel the album is inaccessible, if yes it is adventurous too. There is a sense of cool, but I think effective. So far in '05, this is def. my fave album by a new artist-- & I look forward to Julie's development & 'exploration' in the future too.

This new recording reminds me of how good the world can be.'How good the world should be. A new singer finds a label and she is off and running.I am kind of stunned that this is the first outing for this young singer. As I write this I am listening to her take on "My Romance". It feels so real, so sincere, so new. It also sounds like this singer is comfortable sounding like herself. How refreshing. I am really looking forward to the next recording. If this is what a singer puts out at the outset I can only imagine whats next. The track "A Moments Glance" left me sad in way that I actually enjoy. With her open hearted sound, hushed muted tones and poetry that is both careful and chilling she makes me glad to know music in this way. Listen carefully.

Julie Hardy is one of the most interesting, creative, and musical vocalists that I have ever heard. She not only has a wide and expressive range; she is a first-class arranger, has a rich sense of harmony which shows in her reharmonizations on old tunes; and she is able to more outside of the realm of standard vocal fare with daring improvisations that inspire her bandmates to not just support her solos, but to push themselves further in their interactions with her. The reviewer who has said that she is untalented and less than mediocre must have a bone to pick with someone- if you'd like to read a well-thought out review of this disc, check out the June issue of JazzTimes (here's a link: http://jazztimes.com/reviews/cd_reviews/detail.cfm?article_id=15776).

I purchased this cd on a friend recommendation
To say that I am delighted with it is an understatement.
Julie Hardy aproach to jazz vocal is quite unique.
Her improvising is just so tasteful, a mixture of scatting and chanting. I love the quality of her voice which really shows up on her rendition of "Haunted heart"
I hope that a new cd will come out soon.
She is a breath of fresh air after being subjected to a myriad
of cover singers such as Jane Monheit.