Nancy Lane: Let Me Love You

Nancy Lane's vocal quality looms large in the crowded world of jazz vocalists, and with her recording, Let Me Love You, her melodic delivery will attest that she belongs to a small subset within the field.

Lane is accompanied by a talented core of musicians that perfectly support her formidable skills to deliver a melody. Lara Driscoll is on piano, Kenny Bibace is on the guitar, Mike De Masi plays the bass and Dave Laing is on drums to complete the musical core of the project. With the addition of François D' Amours on tenor saxophone on tracks: "I Can't Believe," "Cry Me a River," and "Everything I've Got." Aron Doyle plays the trumpet or flugelhorn on tracks "We're Together," "Tout ce que veut Lola," "What is This Thing?" to complete the musical tableau.

On "Let Me Love You" Lane lays it all on the line, as she interprets the lyrics to this song of love with her soulful rich voice. Instantly the listener will realize her voice has a wide range and is full in body and character, but most importantly, swings. Driscoll and Bibace add a magical touch to an already elegant tune with their musical solos.

With "We're Together," the track radiates with and exuberant sexuality in a clever way that finds Lane navigating the melody and flawlessly conveying the rhythmic nuances in both the Latin and swing sections of the form. Doyle's solo is a study in a perfect marriage of excitement and clear musical phrases.

On "Everything I've Got Belongs to You" and "What is this Thing Called Love?" Lane also shows a side that more vocalists should explore and that is perfectly expressing a melody at medium-up tempos. Lane also effortlessly tells the story of each song with creative augmentations to the melodic line and a wide reaching vocal range. Bibace adds excellent guitar work to both before mentioned tracks and D' Amours tenor saxophone unfolds a fine solo on "Everything I've Got Belongs to You."

The rhythmic time keepers Masi and Laing heard throughout are unparalleled musicians at creating support and a solid foundation for both the soloist's and Lane to create in the highest musical manner. Lane's vocal quality, rhythmic clarity and range, adds much to this album. As mentioned, there is a paucity of genuine jazz singers and Lane is to be included in this limited group amongst the masses that call themselves jazz vocalists.

Let Me Love You should be in the true jazzophile's collection, it gets no better with this true vocal gem.