Observatory

Julia Dollison | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 11, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 11, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Like So Music
• ASIN: B000BS4WAK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,868 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

So beautiful! The writing, the singing, the production, background vocals, everyone's playing! You're a monstress! --Maria Schneider, Grammy-winning jazz composer, October 10, 2005

Product Description

'THERE'S THIS SINGER I want you to meet. She's really, really good." When Maria Schneider spoke those words to me five years ago, I took them seriously. What kind of jazz singer, I asked myself, would be interesting enough to catch the ear of the outstanding big-band composer of her generation? Here's the answer. It starts with the voice: warm, airy, dappled with summer sunshine, technically bulletproof from top to bottom. She sings like a horn player in love with lyrics. Her solos are pointed and meaningful, little musical stories that take you to places you've never been. Then comes the style, an alchemical blend of jazz and pop that makes Harold Arlen and Rufus Wainwright sound not like strange bedfellows but the oldest of friends. Don't call it "fusion," though: that might smack of calculation, and there's nothing calculated about Julia's singing. Did I mention the arrangements? "In a Mellotone" is nudged into a joltingly ironic minor key, while "Night and Day" is superimposed atop a Coltrane-like harmonic steeplechase. "All the Things You Are" becomes a spacious, Latin-flavored soundscape decorated with the pastel washes of overdubbed vocals that are Julia's trademark. Her own beautifully crafted songs contain the same surprising twists and turns. This is no mere string of unrelated tunes but a painstakingly wrought musical self-portrait. It says a lot about Julia that she chose to record her first album in the perilously fast company of Ben Monder, whose powerfully individual playing could easily have blown a lesser singer right out of the studio. Instead, Julia floats serenely above it like a morning star, wafted aloft by the propulsive yet thoughtful interplay of Matt Clohesy and Ted Poor. This isn't your ordinary debut album. Julia Dollison has something arrestingly new to say. Listen and marvel. -Terry Teachout

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars grateful, August 17, 2006

By 

J. Locke (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Observatory (Audio CD)

I love it .... first I see a 1 star review, then I scroll down to
see a 5 star review. There is no argument in matters of taste. This music may not be for everyone, but those who it IS for are grateful indeed. Dollison is a unique musician with a fresh sense of harmony
and great concept of how to use the voice .... upfront or in the background. The CD's brief opener, melting into "Autumn in New York" floored me. Ben Monder, Ted Poor and Matt Clohesy are perfect - supportive and inspiring.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN ABSOLUTE MUST-HAVE, January 5, 2006

By 

Lindsey Briggs (Reno, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Observatory (Audio CD)

If you love jazz, you have to buy this album. You won't regret it. The human voice truly is an amazing instrument and an incredible force in jazz music, as so skillfully proven in this album.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air..., November 20, 2005

By 

Kerry Marsh (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Observatory (Audio CD)

"Observatory" is a breath of fresh air...diverse, unique, captivating, and wonderfully new...it's one of the most beautiful collections of music I've ever heard. This is a landmark debut recording from a long-awaited voice in the jazz vocal scene. If you do research on Dollison, you'll see that she's endorsed by some of the biggest names in jazz and jazz criticism (Maria Schneider, Terry Teachout, Luciana Souza, Kate McGarry, Peter Eldridge, Ron Miller, Fred Hersch). It's no surprise once you hear the CD. Her website is [...].