Search - Julia Rich :: Witch Hazel

A Fantastic CD

George H. Smith | Bloomington, IL | 01/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I became an immediate fan of Julia Rich after seeing her perform with the Glenn Miller Orchestra a few months ago. She has an elegant, unaffected style that I find very appealing.



After listening to "Witch Hazel," I learned that Ms. Rich's skills as a singer are matched by her skills as a songwriter. Some of her material, such as "Dreaming Dreams and Such" and "A Little Thing Called Gin," are so intensely personal that it is difficult to imagine anyone other than her singing them.



Around half of the songs on this CD are originals; and, though Ms. Rich's performance of standards is uniformly excellent ("Desafinado" is especially outstanding), those originals alone make this a great buy. They make it clear that Julia Rich is not only a singer and songwriter with considerable talent but is also a highly intelligent woman with a great deal of insight.



The other musicians on this CD are also excellent.



Readers of this review should know that I typically prefer instrumentals over vocals, especially in the genre of jazz. But I have listened to "Witch Hazel" many times, and I seem to enjoy it more each time.



Ghs





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