Normally jazz leaves me cold. Life's just too short to count chords. However, the press release for this album captured my attention with the line - "A simple idea from executive producer and spirit guide Patrick Lo Re…" I often hear of the difficulties that bands have in finding a manager but how hard must it be to find a spirit guide? Enough of the asides, this album from Diana McCorry is made up of ten songs written by her father Tim who also played piano.
This is tasteful stuff. True, it is more Ramada Inn than smoky basement club but Diana McCorry is still young and it would be unreasonable to expect her to have suffered from weariness of the ways of the world. That youth, however, brings freshness and perhaps even a certain innocence to her performances. She does not lack confidence either with "Who Do You Think You Are?" being handled with remarkable poise. Even on the rather trite "Because My Heart Has Told Me So", she manages to sell it to you but the standout track was the classy "My Apology" - a song that would surely make many a man buy her roses. The musicianship is polite and rather restrained throughout with only drummer Anthony Pinciotti's contributions really standing out.
Whilst Ms McCorry needs more distinctive material, there is no doubting the fact that she can sing. So many singers - and not just in the jazz genre either - have the voice but not the ability to bring life to the words in a song. Diana McCorry has that uncommon ability and that surely bodes well for her future.
Available by worldwide mail order from CD Baby.