Jacqui Dankworth in a jazzy mood

Nothing in the album credits says so but I guess her very name already speaks for itself. Jacqui Dankworth. She is the daughter of John Dankworth, performer, composer, arranger, musical director and a lot of other things. He is also a Knight of the British Empire, whose wife Cleo Laine, is a Dame and one of the great jazz vocalists of all time. A son, Alec is a much in-demand bassist. Maybe that is why Jacqui sounds simply fantastic but that to-die-for pedigree is really immaterial. What really matters is that Jacqui lives up to the acclaim of being the major discovery of British jazz this year.

The album is entitled As The Sun Shines Down on Me after a song Jacqui wrote with arranger and guitarist Mike Outram. It is a romantic collection of old songs performed by a pure, soulful, hauntingly beautiful voice. It is jazzy but given the warmth of her tones and the youthful freshness of her delivery might also be classified as pop or soul, folk and lots more.

Those qualities and her innate confidence in what she can do must also be the reason why she had the temerity to put together such a varied line-up of materials for her first album. Jacqui can do them all her way. So she has standards’ Blue Moon, Bob Dylan’s folk I Threw It All Away or Joni Mitchell’s Man from Mars, Motown soul as in Stevie Wonder’s Knocks Me Off My Feet, lyrical ballad as in Legrand’s You Must Believe in Spring and not to forget, stylish jazz in English, Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood or in Spanish with Nuestro Tema (Our Story).

The other cuts include one more original song from Jacqui, entitled Miracle plus Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, My Ship, September in the Rain, Teach Me Tonight and Lucky Charm. Would you believe, she even does Hi Lili Hi Lo, a little waltz from the motion picture Lili which she performs with only a solo piano accompaniment. Risky. Yes. But she pulls it off with so much charm.

Move over Renee Olstead. This girl Jacqui is the real thing.

Jazz in the City 2

While we are in this jazzy mood, you might also want to check out Jazz in the City 2. This is the second volume of a collection that first came out a year ago. It is made up of over 30 cuts and features some of today’s biggest artists performing timeless songs in a jazzy way. It would take a small fortune to have copies of all the albums from which these songs come from. Not to mention that fact that most of them are not available locally. I can honestly say buyers are certainly getting a bargain with this well put together and very enjoyable two-CD compilation.

My top picks because they are rare recordings are True Love Ways, the Peter and Gordon pop classic given a jazz vibe by country music star Martina McBride and Bird on a Wire by the legendary Neville Brothers. That is where the legendary Aaron comes from. Of course, I must also mention the contributions of two of the best female voices in pop music, Alison Moyet with The Old Devil Called Love and the late Eva Cassidy with Cheek to Cheek. And surprise! ’80s disco king Rick Astley with And I Love You So.

Also included are Feeling Good by Michael Bublé; Fly Me to the Moon by Westlife; I Remember You by Diana Krall; Lovin’ You by Julia Fordham, Almost Blue by Everything but the Girl; Do I Love You by Jane Monheit; La Vie En Rose a duet by Tony Bennett and K.D. Lang; High and Dry by Jamie Cullum; Heart of Mine by the Peter Malick Group featuring Norah Jones; The Look of Love by Chris Botti; What the World Needs Now by Luther Vandross; the original version of The Greatest Love of All by George Benson;

I Want to be Loved by You by Sinead O’Connor; Waters of March by Basia; Night and Day by Keiko Lee; I Only Have Eyes for You by Carly Simon; A Whiter Shade of Pale by Annie Lennox; A Love That Will Last by Renee Olstead; The Rainbow Connection by Johnny Mathis; When a Man Loves a Woman by Michael Bolton; After the Gold Rush by K.D. Lang; My Baby Just Cares for Me by Cyndi Lauper; Big Spender by Bette Midler; What’s in Goodbye by Will Young and others.