Claudia Koval - With Heart and Soul (2015)

Backed by the talented “3 Gents” Trio (Andris Mattson on piano, trumpet, and accordion, Ken Herrera on drums/percussion, and Nick Klingenberg on stand-up bass) along with Marc Macisso on flute, soprano sax, harmonica, and tenor sax, and Paul Jameson on acoustic guitar, Claudia Koval pays tribute to her music-loving mother in With Heart and Soul: A Dedication to My Mother, a collection of jazz standards featuring several contemporary songs in the spirit of familiar classics. LA Weekly recommended Koval’s 2014 show at the Gardenia, on which the album draws.

The disc begins promisingly with “Body and Soul” (Heyman/Sour/Eyton/Green) and continues with a nice melding of “Moody’s Mood for Love” (Jefferson/Moody) and “I’m in the Mood for Love” (Fields/McHugh). Koval injects “Ain’t Misbehavin’” (Razaf/Waller/Brooks) with just the right combination of mischief and cool.

The performer is on weaker ground with “Fly Me to the Moon” (Howard) and “Twisted” (Ross/Gray). This may be unjust, but I think some songs become so wedded to a certain artist (even if covers), that it ought to go the way of some athletic stars’ jerseys. To my mind, “Twisted” belongs to Joni Mitchell, and it’s such a vocally difficult song that only singers with Mitchell’s mettle circa 1974—the year of Court and Spark’s release—ought to attempt it.

The strongest and most original performance on the album is “The Shadow of Your Smile” (Mandel/Webster). Koval’s sultry voice is well-suited to the song’s simple, melancholy melody and poetic lyrics, as in its verse: “One day we walked along the sand/One day in early spring/You held a piper in your hand/To mend its broken wing.” It’s an ode to kindness, a quality much missing in the world today. Koval also does a nice job with “The Windmills of Your Mind” (Legrand/the Bergmans), lending a theatrical flair to the late 1960s tune. “Sentimental Journey” lacks punch, but the album finishes solidly with “Home” (Karla Bonoff), due in part to Macisso’s masterful harmonica skills.~Reviewed by Victoria Ordin for Cabaret Scene