Lisa Maxwell - Happy (feat. Keith Ingham Quartet) (2011)

Tracklist

01. I'll Take Romance
02. You Can't Lose A Broken Heart
03. Sunday In New York
04. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
05. It Might As Well Be Spring
06. Someone To Watch Over Me
07. My Heart Goes With You
08. Going Out Of My Head
09. This Is Always
10. Blue Moon
11. Under A Blanket Of Blue
12. June Night
13. Skylark
14. A Wonderful Guy

Lisa has all the virtues any singer could ask for. Her voice is appealing; her rhythm glides; her phrasing is all her own. She knows that each song is its own little playlet. Without dramatizing, she lets the song itself take center stage. Lisa Maxwell says..."Each tune is a story to me..."and HAPPY lets us hear and learn from a superb storyteller. Happy is the title of Lisa Maxwell’s sophomore release and it certainly is a Happy collection of well-chosen and not overdone standards, all presented and well supported by the Keith Ingram Quartet, who is Maxwell’s coach. The word breezy comes to mind when listening to Maxwell, and is a perfect entrée to the beautiful spring so many of us are feeling across the U.S. with record highs for March of 2012. Happy creates and relaxing moment to be enjoyed on your back patio with a cool drink in hand and friends to spare.
The singer’s recovery and comeback from a vocal cord disorder that sidelined her for several years earlier in the decade, leaves little to no traces of her traumatic experience. Instead she offers the listener an unadorned, focused timbre that delivers the lyric with honesty and ingratiates the listener to delve on further into her message, where they will not be disappointed with her performance. The simplicity and elegance of Maxwell’s voice is framed equally by Ingram’s sensitive yet thoughtful accompaniment. Even on up-tempo cuts like, “I’ll Take Romance,” and “Under a Blanket of Blue,” the two adorn the cuts with grace and easy-going sophistication. Maxwell and Ingham amalgamate their ideas on the Teddy Randazzo/Bobby Weinstein classic pop tune “Goin’ Out of My Head,” not normally recognized as a jazz cut, Maxwell conveys and convincing reading of this famous tune made recognizable by Petula Clark’s and then Vicky Carr. Maxwell’s rendition is light samba that gives the cut a different yet respectful texture. Maxwell is an accessible and easy to listen to jazz vocalist with a bit of that 60’s sound mixed in, reminiscent of easy listening – but jazz enough for a vocal jazz collection. Enjoy the listen; it truly is a wonderful introduction to a user-friendly collection.

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