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ESPRESSO JAZZ REVIEWS

"A smooth and slow, sexy and stylish, collection of intimate tunes"

CD Review: ESPRESSO JAZZ
After Hours

By Kevin McVeigh

It’s late in the evening at my family’s summer rental at the shore. South Jersey, 1957. The little ones are in bed, the dishes are cleared, the lights are lowered, and my parents are listening to music with a few old friends. The clinking of ice cubes in the highball glasses, the faint glow of cigarettes, and the sound of the music from the record player: Mabel Mercer, Blossom Dearie, Lee Wiley, Erroll Garner, and of course, Old Blue Eyes himself. It’s not a nightclub, just a little bungalow by the beach, but it has the aura of an archetype. And that archetype is “After Hours.”

Sandi Russell and Barbara Hilton, the anchoring duo of the often larger ensemble, Espresso Jazz, have now issued their first duet recording. It’s a smooth and slow, sexy and stylish, collection of intimate tunes that they call, you guessed it, “After Hours.” They’ve brewed up the perfect late night concoction for your thirsty ears, your battle-scarred heart and your longing soul, with just enough upbeat numbers to keep you from sliding off your barstool or your sofa as their other languorous tunes carry you away into the land of reverie and reflection.

Sandi Russell has an enchanting voice to blend with her many-mooded guitar work. This woman can sing, no doubt about it; but more than that, she can “style” a song like few vocalists around. Maybe like some of those virtuosos named above, on that long ago evening by the seashore. And Barbara Hilton, working a standup bass as big as she is, keeps the air and sky of Russell’s music connected to the very spot where you’re sitting with her sure and percussive pulse: earthy, immediate and deeply sensual.

The Russell/Hilton repertoire is truly an After Hours tour, starting with the Cole Porter classic, “I Love Paris.” It’s the perfect tune to lead off this collection, because its message is the one that underlies the entire performance: What’s to love about Paris, cheri, is not the Eiffel Tower or the Champs Elysees; it’s the fact that you are near. And when Sandi Russell sings those words in an intimate whisper, you know she is talking to you alone.

If you ask her, ala Taxi Driver Travis Bickel, “Are you talkin’ to me?” the answer comes back right away. This intimate personal motif is echoed in the lilting song that follows next, “East of the Sun, (West of the Moon)” when Ms. Russell reassures you, darling, that it’s “just you and I,” and she phrases those words as if she truly means what she says.

But words can only say so much, and music sometimes has to speak for itself, as Russell and Hilton remind us with the three splendid instrumentals in this collection: “Unforgettable,” Gershwin’s “Summertime,” and the traditional ballad, “The Water is Wide.” On all three the Espresso Jazz pair reminds you that they are fundamentally an instrumental duet, as the guitar and the bass become partners in a most intimate dance of notes and chords, of melodies and rhythms. And by the way, if you’re one of those who wonders, Is this great music for making love to (oh, go ahead, admit it, you are), the answer, cheri, is an emphatic Mais Oui!

Sailing away in your thoughts and memories? Wake up, dahling, let’s go “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Let’s add a little “brassy” to our “sultry” with “Puttin’ On the Ritz.” Let’s swing a little, as we go strolling in the “Summer Wind.” All three numbers will bring you back to life, at least enough to get up and freshen that drink, or put another log on the fire.

But in the end, sweetheart, let’s be honest. This thing we call love is always shot through with a certain sadness, a bittersweet ache. The rhapsodic fantasies of forever in “Summer Me, Winter Me” (Michel Legrand) will rekindle even your most jaded hopes, but they eventually find their balance in the sad and lonely message of “A Day in the Life of a Fool,” and in the plaintive and melancholy instrumental “The Water is Wide,” that signals closing time at Sandi and Barbara’s “After Hours” café.

The Ms’es (hey, how DO you pluralize Ms?) Russell and Hilton bring their plangent sound to a number of intimate Western Massachusetts locales, such as the Franklin County trattoria Ristorante DiPaolo, where they hold court on Monday evenings. However, with this recording you can bring them right into the even more intimate setting of your own home, your love nest, or most delightfully of all into your own ears, where Sandi will remind you, dear, that the songs are really about you, and Barbara will drive that message home with the pulsing of her soulful bass. And best of all, you can hear them (almost live) in places where “After Hours” never ends. Until, and if, you want it to.

"A grand group effort ... superb vocals and intimate guitar playing throughout this album."

CD Review: ESPRESSO JAZZ
The Blues Are Brewin'

By Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
www.jazzreview.com

Recording an entire album of covers seems like it puts listeners on notice that the artist may be on the down side of a once successful career. In retrospect, never does this apply more than on rock or pop albums, but there is always an exception to the rule, such as jazz and blues. If in fact you are a good musician that is surrounded by talent that is supportive and like minded, and you decide to record timeless and treasured classics from the "Great American Songbook," then you have a sure fire formula for success.
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"Espresso takes third CD to new heights"

CD Review: ESPRESSO Jazz 'N' Samba

By MARC LEMAY
www.imassjazz.com

I've never been a fan of samba, mostly because I have two left feet. Lucky for me I don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case a CD cover by its title. Sandi Russell and Espresso opened my eyes to a different flavor in music, rather than the dance steps, in their latest CD Jazz 'N' Samba. Don't let the title fool you, its not all samba. Ten songs grace the CD, ranging from the jumpy title cut, to the blues sounding Love Is Here To Stay and Never Make Your Move Too Soon. Russell's voice stands out in the later cut, showing complete range of her abilities, teasing you with jazz inflected blues while not disrupting the flow of the rest of the CD
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"They effortlessly weave their laid-back magic."

CD Review: ESPRESSO I'm Just A Lucky So & So

By KEN IRWIN
WMUA Jazz Music Director, Java Jazz Co-host
Jazz Improv Magazine Staff

The friendly swinging style of the Espresso Jazz Trio is evident from the opening bars of the first track, " I’m Just A Lucky So & So." This Ellington classic is treated tenderly with guitar and tenor setting the stage for Sandi Russell’s "cool" vocals. A lyrical guitar interlude from Russell follows Kerry Blount’s lush tenor solo on the title track
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"Russell's voice is rich and expressive, warm and engaging "

CD Review: ESPRESSO All Of Me

By PAUL BURTON
Music Revue Magazine

This collection of jazz-pop-blues standards is a nice introduction to local jazz trio Espresso. Led by guitarist-vocalist Sandi Russell, the group swings with a relaxed , mellow style. Russell's voice is rich and expressive, warm and engaging on classics like" A Foggy Day ","Tuxedo Junction ",and " Skylark."
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MORE REVIEWS ...

"World class talent" CD Review: ESPRESSO Jazz 'N' Samba

By KEITH HANNALECK www.musicdish.com

Any time I am feeling a little down and life becomes overwhelming all I have to do is throw on some jazz music and everything seems to melt away. This is the kind of music that soothes my soul. "Espresso Jazz" is a four piece ensemble from Northampton Massachusetts, which happens to be in my back yard, only an hour away. It’s nice to know that there is this kind of world class talent right around the corner that I can drive to and enjoy. Read More

"They make these old standards come alive." CD Review: ESPRESSO All Of Me

By JENNIFER LAYTON www.Indie-Music.com

I've been without my jazz music for almost two months now while reviewing all these alt rock/power pop CDs I've been getting. I started to suspect I was suffering from mellow jazz withdrawal when McDonald's got my order wrong yesterday and three other customers had to physically restrain me from leaping over the counter and putting my foot through the frozen yogurt machine. Read more

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