Maria Jacobs - No Frills

Maria Jacobs is a fine singer with an appealing voice, a subtle style and the ability to swing. On her debut recording, she is joined by Mike Petrone or Robert "Skeets" Rose on piano, Martin Block or Jesse Dandy on bass, drummer Roy King (on four of the nine songs) and, for three tunes, the saxes of Gerald Linthicome.

Among the highlights are a pair of vocal-piano duets ("Black Coffee" and "You 'Don't Know What Love Is"). Based in Cleveland at the time of the recording (she has since relocated to L.A.), Maria Jacobs sings mostly melodic versions of standards (plus her own "No Frills"), stretching out a bit on "Corcovado," "In a Mellow Tone" and "You Don't Know What Love Is." Although hopefully she will explore some lesser-known and newer material in the future, this is an impressive start to what should be a productive career.~Scott Yanow