Natasha Miller - Don't Move (2006)

Once again, spunky vocalist Natasha Miller teams up with 81-year-old songwriter Bobby Sharp (Unchain My Heart, Don't Set Me Free), and this time, she’s got an album of destined-to-be jazz standards that outdoes everything she's produced to date. The new CD—Don't Move—(scheduled for a February 21 release) features 11 songs written by Sharp, most of which have never been recorded before.

That makes this album something of an historic event in its own right. What makes it a musical event—of the first order—is Sharp’s songwriting, Natasha’s gift for flawless phrasing, and stunning arrangements penned by a group of musicians whose roots go deep and whose talents run to the top of their class—pianists Bill Bell (Duke Ellington, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson), Larry Dunlap (Cleo Lane, Mark Murphy), Ellen Hoffman (Oakland East Bay Symphony, Linda Ronstadt), and Josh Nelson (Peter Erskine, Ernie Watts).

Some of the arrangements call for a 3-piece horn section and a string ensemble to augment Natasha’s jazz trio. “It’s only a 9-piece band, Miller says, “but the arrangements are so full and the band so tight, I sometimes think I’ve got The Stan Kenton Orchestra or Nelson Riddle and his strings behind me.” Sharp’s songwriting, as always, demonstrates his impeccable talent. He possesses an uncanny ability to unify the elements of his songs so they tell moving stories with a profound simplicity—always with style and grace (and sometimes, with a good bit of humor).

Those elements, along with the energy Natasha brings to each song, make music you just can’t get enough of. In fact, the title of the album—Don’t Move—is not just lifted from one of the tracks; you’ll find it personally compelling.