Very good smooth jazz (if that's what you like)
Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 04/16/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I will confess my biases and say straight up that I'm not a fan of smooth jazz. In many cases, it's about 2 steps removed from muzak.
That said, this is a very good rendition of smooth jazz. It is Rigmor Gustafsson, knocking off a number of songs sung by Dionne Warwick (prinicpally the famous Bacharach tunes)in flawless English, with back up by "The Jacky Terrasson trio."
Terrasson himself is a surprise. One of the young lions of piano jazz, I'm most familiar with him from the impressive album he cut in 1997 with Cassandra Wilson, "Rendezvous." There, he was quite vibrant. Here, he tones himself down, so as to fit the style of the music and truly accompany the singer in question.
Actually, the most impressive musician on this recording is the bassist, Sean Smith. And the highlight of the album is the 7th cut, "Odds and Ends", a voice-bass duet with some cool finger-popping and whistling. If the rest of the album were like this, I'd give this 5 stars.
As it is, if you're in to smooth jazz, you will want to buy this. If you're like me and you're not, you'll want at least to give it a listen. RC
"
Smooth jazz? Hardly.
Biddleyding | 06/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"No, this isn't smooth jazz, it's an acoustic date with some fine improv and one track where Terrason cuts loose on Rhodes. The arrangements are excellent. Terrason is masterful as an accompanist/arranger here. This album may seem like a completely mellow date, but turn up the volume on tracks like "Raindrops" and watch the the doors come off their hinges from the ripping swinging that's happening.
An excellent, must-have album for jazz vocalists and enthusiasts."
Close to You
Bjorn Viberg | European Union | 12/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Close to You~ Rigmor Gustafsson is a very nice smooth jazz album that is easy listening at its easiest. In fact, I agree with a previous reviewer that this album is treading quite close to elevator music. Rigmor Gustavsson is an accomplished singer and sounds a lot like the late and great Monica Zetterlund. The lyrics are consider classics, however, I personally think they talk basically about nothing and are filled with simple lyrics regarding love and emotions such as that. The artwork and book-let well it is a nice collage of photos but there are no lyrics and no additional information is included either. Still and all do not get me wrong. This is a good album with some very easy listening jazz that can fit perfectly as background music and I therefore give it 4 stars."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1