Inger Marie Gundersen - My Heart Would Have a Reason (2009)

Inger Marie’s third CD release proves that the success of her previous two albums was no coincidence. She and her new collaborator, producer and guitarist Georg Wadenius, have handpicked a selection of extremely wellsuited songs, which she and her band and featured guest, trumpeter Mathias Eick perform to near perfection. Norwegian jazz diva Inger Marie Gundersen spreads a con- tagious mood of unstressed wellbeing. Her style is relaxed and her vocal phrasing is rock-steady. Once you’ve heard her interpret one of the songs that are so dear to her heart, her voice will never be a stranger to you. Few European fema- le vocalists can match her penetrating charisma. Her art is deeply embedded in her own original musical world. Her sound is personal, and she has the courage to choose tunes from a broader palette than the usual American Songbook. This selection includes her own originals as well as songs by Norwegian colleagues and composers from the outskirts of jazz such as Sting and Bob Marley. Inger Marie strikes a seductive, blue, vibrant note and leaves her audience with a luscious velvety, dusty feeling. Such is the smooth and credible sound of an experienced woman it is the sound of reflection, love and longing. She administers her extraordinary vocal talent with authority.

Inger Marie does not take a new release lightly. For her, a new CD is an important and very personal undertaking indeed it is so important, that her first solo album is only a few years back. But her following has been growing quickly ever since. Surprisingly, Asia was first to discover her great talent. She has sold thousands of units there and toured extensively. Her enga- gements include weeklong gigs at Tokyo’s Cotton Club. At home in Norway and in Denmark, where her recording label resides, and all over Europe and in the US, her audiences grow daily. The musicians on My Heart Would Have a Reason are almost exactly the same as on her first two albums (Make This Moment, 2004 and By Myself, 2006), and listening to the music, it is obvious that Inger Marie feels at home in their company. The band is: Oscar Jansen (piano/ Rhodes), Ole Kristian Kvamme (bass), Tom Rudi Torjussen (drums/percussion), Øivind G. Stømer (alto and soprano sax), Mathias Eick (trumpet) and Georg Wadenius (guitar). Swedish Georg Wadenius plays a definitive role as producer and co-arranger as well as with his tasteful musicianship on acoustic and electric guitar. Wadenius has been a professional musician since 1968. He soon became one of Sweden’s most popular session musi- cians, but moved to USA in the early ‘70s to join Blood Sweat and Tears. Once again his reputation grew swiftly, and over the years he worked with a wide range of acts inclu- ding Luther Vandross, Roberta Flack, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Donald Fagen, Michael Franks, Backstreet Boys and many others. The seasoned Georg Wadenius has now returned to Scandinavia, and his collaboration with Inger Marie has resulted in this remarkable album.

Personnel: Inger Marie Gundersen (vocals); Georg "Jojje" Wadenius (guitar); Mathias Eick (trumpet); Oscar Jansen (piano).