There's no telling if Lois Deloatch achieves closure here, but she is successful in putting out a fine jazz CD.

The haunting songs "Reflection," "A Good Cry" and the title track are showcases for her soulful vocals. "Kamissie" is a bit different, a slow ballad with a classical-flavored introduction. Deloatch's vocals sound somewhat like those of Anita Baker, although they have more of a jazz than a pop feel.

Duke Ellington's "Solitude" and "Tenderly" get a full cocktail lounge treatment. Not that these are thrown-off versions. Deloatch offers them as jazz songs, stylishly reaching down for bass notes and using her voice as if it were a horn.

Surprisingly for a CD by a jazz singer, there are two instrumentals, although they are written by her. "Perpetual Motion" is a generally light, upbeat tune with Wiggins on flute, Gabe Evans on piano and Scott Sawyer on electric guitar. "Trigger" has Wiggins on alto and Sawyer playing guitar that is more rock that jazz.

There is a great deal of variety here, with a mixture of vocals and instrumentals and a range of moods, all done with imagination and style.

by Dave Howell
Rambles.NET
11 November 2006