Hybrid Super Audio CD
Produced by Laurence Cottle and Calum Malcolm
Release Date: Monday 4th June, 2007.
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Featuring
Claire Martin - vocals; Gareth Williams - piano; Clark Tracey - drums; Laurence Cottle - bass
Plus
Jim Mullen - guitar; Gerard Presencer - flugelhorn; Steve Watts - double bass; Massimo Marraccini - percussion
Linn Records is delighted to announce the release of the new album by Claire Martin.
"He never mentioned love" is a recording which sees the UK's finest jazz singer recall the songs and spirit of the late and legendary Shirley Horn.
Already being credited in certain quarters as her finest album to date, it features some of the hottest talent in UK jazz and captures the five times BBC Jazz Award Winner in intimate and mature mode.
Prior to Horn's passing in 2005, Martin was deeply affected and influenced by the technique, spirit and approach of her mentor. They shared management and met on several occasions. This album sees Ms Martin celebrate her legacy but from her own unique perspective and without imitation.
The album also features a tribute song co-penned by Claire and album producer Laurence Cottle, Slowly but Shirley. Claire Martin has been nominated once again for the BBC Jazz Awards in Best Vocalist category.
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LA TIMES
January 2nd 2007
Don Heckman
Well, it's about time we met. The English singer Claire Martin makes her L.A. debut with an imaginative program.
It was hard to believe, from the very first notes she sang, that jazz singer Claire Martin was making her debut Los Angeles performance Sunday night. And making it before a modest-sized audience in the intimate environs of Beverly Hills Rising Jazz Stars Foundation.
How could it be, one wondered, that this extraordinary artist with a string of highly regarded albums in her professional dossier and a solid reputation as Englands most impressive female jazz artist had never been heard before in the Southland?
Whatever the reason, the English-born Martin is a singer who should be (must be) heard by anyone with the slightest interest in jazz vocalizing. At a time when the woods are thick with talented distaff jazz artists, she is a standout, instantly recognizable as a unique and impressive creative performer.
Working with the sterling trio led by pianist Tamir Hendelman, Martin could do no wrong.
Start with her warm, velvety sound, pliable enough to move from atmospheric ballads to fast-paced, instrument-like up-tempos. Add her musical precision, driven by flawless pitch and crisp, articulate phrasing.
Toss in an imaginative choice of programming embracing material reaching from jazz standards to offbeat pop items and originals. And all that still doesnt quite separate her from the top level of female singers, a few of whom bring similar credentials to their music.
What raised the bar for Martins performance was her capacity to combine these qualities with a captivating onstage persona and a storytelling mastery that transformed her songs into something more than words and music, into musical miniatures running the gamut from intimate love balladry to high-spirited jazz inventiveness to sardonic commentary on the state of the world.
She did it via songs such as Joni Mitchells Sex Kills and Betty Carters Tight, the whimsical My Dissipation (written for her by a friend) and the double entendres of Gino Vannellis Gettin High, and the late-night musings of songs such as Mark Winklers Come Back to Me and a stunning re-phrasing of Mercer and Van Heusens I Thought About You.
All of which underscores the question of why Martin is still a relatively unknown quantity in this country. And one can only hope that the reply will be, Not for long, because she is the real deal, a talent with the skill, imagination, maturity and presence to provide new and compelling definitions for the fascinating art of jazz singing.
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