Lee Gibson - The Nearness Of You (1996)

This is an album for anyone who loves jazz singing but feels a little starved of late. Sure there are some great singers around making interesting noises, but they can make demands on the listener too. What’s on offer either verges on the esoteric, or there’s too strong an admixture of soul, or the album is largely made up of the singer’s own (often uncompromisingly subjective) compositions. The difference between a singer and a jazz singer is that the latter always swings. ‘Phrasing like a horn’ is a well worn cliché but it serves the purpose of defining the critical essence of jazz singing, a genre which is perhaps more complex to understand and requires more of its audience than ‘popular’ singing. And the ability to invest sometimes banal lyrics with meaning and worth is another weapon essential weapon in a jazz singer’s armouryThe difference between Lee Gibson and many another jazz singer is that she swings in so many different ways, sometimes subtle, sometimes sensuous, sometimes joyful but always musical. Throughout this CD she never sacrifices respect for her listeners or fellow musicians; each song is presented with love and clarity, pitched to perfection.

Lee’s uninhibited delivery and unstoppable swing never occlude her concern for the meaning of the lyrics. There’s an overall excitement about the album, from which you can’t help getting the impression that each musician can hardly wait to join her. This is musicians’ singer. Every tune on this CD will reward repeated listening, right through to the exhilarating, high octane I Only Have Eyes For You with its cross rhythms and breakneck tempo." ~Jonathan Abbott