Sundae + Mr. Goessl: Cheek to Cheek

Sundae is singer Kate Voss and Mr. Goessl is guitarist Jason Goessl. Both parties hail from Seattle, WA, where Mr. Goessl has his thumb in numerous musical pies, including Trimtab, The Pornados and the present Sundae + Mr. Goessl, just to name a few.

Cheek to Cheek is touted as "a 1930s pop album," which it is, putting the Great American Songbook into perspective with the time it was assembled. Goessl, who can apparently play multiple styles of guitar. He can add "in the spirit of Joe Pass" to his resume. Pass was a superb accompanist and reserved some of his best playing for that role. Goessl adopts Pass' "less is more" when supporting a vocalist, avoiding verbose arpeggios and glissandos. While wordier than many guitarists, Goessl never shows off his considerable chops for the sake of showing them off. He always plays within measure.

Vocalist Kate Voss (AKA "Sundae") sings with an informed coquettishness that possesses the merest hint of Billie Holiday. The Holiday influence is not as great in Voss as it was in early "Madeleine Peyroux." Voss' sweet eutectoid of Holiday and melody can be heard best on a breezy "Body and Soul" and a boozy and decadent "Lush Life." Of note is a slinky "Mood Indigo," elastically rendered by Goessl providing Voss a silk stocking over which to sing. This is a very fine standards recording with the twist of being cleverly programmed and precisely performed.