SARA GAZAREK — Return To You (2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Nothing shines brighter than a rising star and vocalist Sara Gazarek delivers a sensational follow-up to her widely hailed 2005 debut that focused on Great American Songbook standards. On Return to You, her expanded repertoire features an array of new textures and sounds via woodwind, brass, and string accompaniment that reshapes Seamus Blake's "Northern Lights," Josh Nelson's "Just Let Me Be," and Paul McCartney's pop standard "Junk." Gazarek does a fine job on Joni Mitchell's "Carey," giving it a playful mood. By contrast she gives Billy Joel's lovelorn lyrics on "And So It Goes" a complete emotional makeover. The recording also features several new songs written by her pianist Josh Nelson, including the opening track "Let's Try This Again," which he co-wrote with Gazarek. However, she shines brightest as a singer, and on "Northern Lights," her voice is delicate, sensitive, and has a strong resemblance to Norah Jones' folk-jazz style. Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" commands your attention because of the rarely recorded final chorus that is included here. Overall, Return to You is a complete gift that should endear Gazarek's fans even closer to her easygoing, youthful sound and charisma. [A bonus track version was also released.] Paula Edelstein
Tracklist :
1    Let's Try This Again     3:42
2    Northern Lights     4:16
3    Carey    4:53
4    Junk    3:26
5    Just Let Me Be     3:54
6    Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling     4:29
7    And So It Goes    5:12
8    I've Got A Great Idea     3:03
9    Dear Someone    3:29
10    Hallelujah     5:35
11    Makes Me Feel This Way    3:52
12    Without You    4:49
13    Original 4     1:48
Credits :
Acoustic Bass, Guitar – Erik Kertes
Drums – Matt Slocum
Piano, Organ, Glockenspiel – Josh Nelson
Strings – Supernova String Quartet (tracks: 4)
Tenor Saxophone, Guitar, Vocals – Seamus Blake (tracks: 2)
Trumpet – Ambrose Akinmusire (tracks: 5)
Vocals – John Proulx (tracks: 9), Sara Gazarek

SARA GAZAREK — Blossom & Bee (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Sara Gazarek is one of the most winning vocalists on the current jazz scene, a singer with a voice as clear and pure as mountain air, great taste in arrangements, and a hint of wicked humor in both her repertoire and her delivery. She is also a talented songwriter herself, and on her third album as a leader she displays all of these gifts in abundance. Here she works in close collaboration with pianist, organist, and composer Larry Goldings; they are joined by bassist Hamilton Price, drummer Zach Harmon, and pianist Josh Nelson, as well as by guest artist John Pizzarelli (who sings and plays guitar on the wonderful "Blossom & Bee" and contributes rhythm guitar to a pleasingly hard-swinging arrangement of the vaudeville song "Some of These Days"). Gazarek's musical vision is wide-ranging, and on this album jazz is more of a touchstone than a straitjacket -- it's what connects the romantic Ben Folds ballad "The Luckiest" with an alternately funky and swinging rendition of "Down with Love," and bridges the divide between the Blossom Dearie weeper "The Lies of Handsome Men" and a delightful take on the Schoolhouse Rock! classic "Unpack Your Adjectives." And it's what turns "So This Is Love," perhaps the most affecting of all Disney movie songs, into a deliciously swaying bossa nova, complete with a fantastic scat section. This is an utterly captivating album, one on which all musical barriers seem permeable and Gazarek's voice is a source of constant delight. Rick Anderson       Tracklist + Credits :