Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Denise Mangiardi: Brown Book

7

Denise Mangiardi: Brown Book

By

Sign in to view read count
Denise Mangiardi: Brown Book
Denise Mangiardi dwells in two musical worlds, as both a jazz singer and an accomplished classical composer. She puts all her talents to good use on this CD, singing a collection of self-written ballads, folk songs and torch songs, over her own haunting arrangements.

Mangiardi's moving string-writing appears on the two brief "Soundscape" instrumentals which bookend the album, as well as on the songs "The Exchange," "Waves," and "My Beauty"—which is really Thelonious Monk's "Ugly Beauty" with lyrics added by the singer. The lush arrangements, played by the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, give dramatic support to Mangiardi's high, evocative voice, while Mark Soskin's piano and Tony DaGradi's soprano sax further embellish the tunes. "Brown Book" has a similar feel, but with only Soskin and Dagardi present, not the strings. This song carries a yearning big-city mood reminiscent of Laura Nyro's early music.

The leader excels at more informal sounds as well; she sings convincing sultry blues on "Day Time Kind Of Girl," with the help of Dave O'Higgins' heavy tenor sax and Brian Seeger's soulful blues guitar. "Horn Song" is a lively samba, where she happily sings over three chugging tenor players, Dagradi, O'Higgins and Jerry Bergonzi. She even includes a pretty Mexican-flavored folk song, "Red Bouquet," cooing gently over Seeger's twangy guitar and Jay Anderson's solid bass line.

Mangiardi's voice has an angelic quality which conveys honest emotion, no matter the musical setting. The gliding, hushed delicacy she displays on "My Beauty," with its hints of Billie Holiday, is breathtaking. She can sing exquisitely as well as create gorgeous musical settings which show her voice to full advantage. This is a remarkably lovely and affecting album.

Track Listing

Soundscape 1; The Exchange; Brown Book; Day Time Kind Of Girl; Horn Song; My Beauty; Castle In The Sky; Red Bouquet; Waves; Soundscape 2.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

Slovak National Symphony Orchestra: strings (1,2,6,9,10).

Album information

Title: Brown Book | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Alice's Loft

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.