Lauren White and the Quinn Johnson Trio: Ever Since The World Ended

There is an interesting take of "Ever Since the World Ended" on You Tube. It is an evocative video, a kind of visual essay on Mose Allison's blues which could serve as an anthem to the pandemic and accompanying mess we are in. Lauren White (accompanied by Dolores Scozzesi) is appropriately downbeat, and well complemented by the Quinn Johnson Trio. One could enjoy a stiff drink while reflecting on the last year and listening. And, mostly, that is the mood of the recording. Bittersweet, mellow, regretful. White projects a world-weary persona which, intentionally or not, is appropriate to a journal of the plague year. It does make one wish that more visuals could accompany the CD, Ever Since the World Ended

A variety of interesting tracks on Los Angeles-based White's latest recording sustain the theme of "quite a year for all of us," as she puts it in her liner notes. One of them is a nice rendering of Karrin Allyson's "Some of That Sunshine," fittingly enough, since White is occasionally reminiscent of Ms. Allyson. "Take Love Easy" also works as an instrumental, bouncing in and out of double time; it does something to lift the mood, although Jimmy Webb's "Shattered" brings things to a kind of mournful close. But Sam Jones' "Del Sasser" ("If You Never Fall in Love With Me," the opening track), features White at a bright tempo with a montuno twist that you can always return to. It is one of the highlights of the recording; she could have taken it up a la Cannonball even more.

This is White's fourth CD. No doubt it will be every bit as well-received as her earlier ones, which brought an intriguing mix of jazz and pop through which White continues to carve out her own niche in the crowded field of singers who help get us through the day (and night).

Excellent choice of material and a first-rate band besides.