Jacqueline Tabor, The Lady in the Gown Review
Connect with Jacqueline Tabor: Website |
Sometimes you have so much music coming at you, it’s easy to miss a gem. Thankfully there are those out there that keep reminding you to take a listen and give it a try. Why I missed this one, who know. The good news is, introducing Jacqueline Tabor a native of Bellevue, Washington. She graduated from Sammamish High School where she studied music under Jack Halm, who taught in the Bellevue School District and at Seattle Pacific University. Tabor studied Music and History at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she first cut her teeth on the blues and the origins of jazz. A momentary hiatus to raise her kids never quenched the thirst of desiring to perform full time. Tabor returned to her hometown of Seattle in 2003. She began performing regularly in various clubs and competitions with great result. Her debut album The Lady in the Gown is a combination of jazz and jazz/blues selections with predominately jazz standards with the exception of the title track being penned by Tabor.
Positives:
Tabor excels at the blues, its where she shines the most rhythmically and with her vocal inflections.
Bottom Line:
Highlights on the album include, Tabor’s original “The Lady in the Gown,” a blues inflected original shuffle, that Tabor digs into her lower tones on and pulls out her best soulfulness on. “Tight,” a tune widely covered by Jazzmeia Horn on her 2017 album Social Call is taken at a much sultrier slowed down tempo. Set up by bassist Greg Feingold with a two feel before heading into a swing feel, guitarist Cole Schuster weaves a worthy solo. Tabor has a patinaed voice that is replete with soul-blues inflections and authoritative command. What is most inviting is her vocals are unaffected, almost dry in their recordings style, which adds to the nuances of her approach to each tune. There are so many things right with this recording, I am remiss in why it took me so long to get down to business. That’s the short of it!