Thanks a lot to Wolfgang Giese from Musicansich.de! The new album, The Song Is You, is rated 17 out of 20, and so is placed in the category: Sehr empfehlenswert, that means: Highly Recommended!
But...furthermore it receives a really nice and thorough review as well! Here is the link to the review in German: https://www.musikansich.de/review.php?id=22117
Here is an English translation:
The subtitle reads: "Feat. Gilad Hekselman & Kirk Knuffke. Yes, there are
three of them. Lilly, real name Lilly-Ann Hertzman is a singer, songwriter
and producer. She hails from Denmark, a child of Japanese and Danish
parents. Her influences range from jazz to the singer/songwriter genre and
folk to pop.
She has been releasing records regularly since 2015, in both English and
Danish. Most recently, there was a duo album with guitarist Gilad Hekselman
in 2017. The Israeli-born musician is also on board for The Song Is You, as
is U.S. cornet player Kirk Knuffke.
What is striking about the album's song selection is that, with the
exception of two tracks ("Scarborough Fair" - a traditional and "Five Wild
Geese" - an original composition), it consists exclusively of jazz
standards. And that usually requires a good hand, especially since as a
listener one may often be inclined to go with originals or other well-known
interpretations. And so I find it very gratifying that the three don't cling
tightly and rigidly to well-known versions of the standards in question, but
invest their own imaginations to create individual interpretations.
"If You Could See Me Now" starts as a pure vocal-guitar duet, with Gilad
Hekselman adding a special accent with his acoustic guitar. This is
extremely sensitively done, the delicate, soft and smooth voice nestling
with the guitar to form a whole, quite dreamy and encouraging to let the
thoughts fly.
"Up Jumped Spring" is one of the seven entries for cornetist Kirk Knuffke,
the other three songs are in duet format. This lightly lilting song shows
Hekselman deftly embellishing the arrangement while also taking on a strong
rhythmic role. And on top of that, he sensitively accommodates his solo
work, giving the song a playful and wide-ranging expression through the
various facets of his guitar playing.
And so all the remaining songs are also strongly marked by the versatility
and wide range of guitarist Hekselman. From my point of view Lilly carries
different elements of expression, from jazz sometimes Abbey Lincoln comes to
the fore, but also the folky variant of a Joni Mitchell should be
considered. All songs have in common that the protagonist conveys a strong
emotional impression through her very sensitive voice, very personally
marked. And this comes especially to the fore in the original composition
"Five Wild Geese". Here, the various musical influences are very aptly
matched and merged.
Kirk Knuffke always brings the strongest jazz part into the songs with his
contributions, influenced by modern oriented trumpet/cornet players. For
example, he is instrumental in "modernizing" Duke Ellington's very familiar
standard, "Prelude To A Kiss." "Scarborough Fair," the traditional English
tune, has become one of the most unusual songs on the album. The origin of
the song in the Middle Ages, including the atmosphere of that time, is
transferred to the present time with what we know from the interpretation of
Simon & Garfunkel, enriched with jazz, to a very individual sound.
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