Misha: Dreaming With Eyes Wide Awake

Michaela Steinhauer is a German-born, New York based singer and this self-produced album features eleven of her own compositions and arrangements. These dreamy, romantic numbers benefit from her choice of accomplished musicians, not least Hendrik Meurkens who contributes elegant harmonica featured on five of the songs and vibraphone on another five.

Despite having spent much of her life in Germany and ten years in Moscow, she delivers the songs in perfect English with scarcely a trace of a Continental European accent. Songs such as the wistful "Where I Do Belong?" are evinced with moving poignancy, her voice subtly interlaced with the harmonica.

Not all are ballads, the relatively more strident "Hello, How Are You Doing?" plays well against the vibes and piano. Lyrically, Steinhauer is clearly capable of writing and singing affecting lyrics, as evidenced by numbers like the gentle "She Wonders Why" and the ironically titled "Yet Another Love Song." The lively "Family Games," underpinned by Michal Jaros's walking bass is genuinely foot-tapping and enhanced by Steinhauer's scat singing. The pace quickens with "Day And Night" but is slowed with the elegiac "The House Is Quiet." Meurkens is heard on harmonica again interwoven with Steinhauer's dulcet vocals on the title track.

This is Steinhauer's seventh CD to date and aptly demonstrates her considerable songwriting and singing talents. There's nothing dislikeable here and plenty to like.