Lua Hadar with Twist: Like A Bridge
By"Bridge over Troubled Water" begins with Larry De La Cruz's warm alto saxophone lines globetrotting over an easy straight-eight pulse, leading to Hadar's entrance. Hadar has a warm voice and likes to end her phrases with a fair amount of vibrato, giving each cut a classic sound. Pianist and musical director Jason Martineau does a great job of creating a solid fabric of jazz-themed, cosmopolitan world music throughout the release, complementing Hadar's voice and linguistics; musically his arrangements are the bridge to a cohesive listening experience.
An interesting funk version of "San Francisco," with Hadar singing in French, is a nice romantic twist to this classic, well-known melody. Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Imagina," is a conveyed as a waltz sung in Portuguese, its wide vocal range usually covered with a male-female duet. Here, however Lua's duet is with renowned cellist Emil Miland, further taking this delightful release to a place of musical twist. Hadar's vocal style on this selection is slightly more operatic, with a faster vibrato, but she navigates the wide-ranging melody with confidence.
All in all, Like a Bridge is appositely titled-a bridge of musical delight that makes a truly global journey, introducing sounds from across the beautiful palette of diversity.
Track Listing
Bridge Over Troubled Water; Beyond the Sea/La Mer (French); Raha Mbola Misy (Malagasy);San Francisco (French); Child of Man;Imagina (Portuguese); Sukiyaki/Ue o Muite Aruko (Japanese); jalá Que Llueva Café (Spanish); Isfahan (Instrumental); Stregata dall’Amor/Ravel’s Bolero (Italian).
Personnel
Lua Hadar: vocals; Jason Martineau: piano, musical director; Dan Feiszli: acoustic and electric bass; Celso Alberti: drums; Ian Dogole: udu, cajon, dumbek, shakers; Larry De La Cruz: reeds; Fumiko Ozawa: koto; Emil Miland: cello; Dave Miotke: accordion.
Album information
Title: Like A Bridge | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Bellalua Records
Post a comment about this album
FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ

WE NEED YOUR 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.About Lua Hadar
Instrument: Voice / vocals
Article Coverage | Calendar | Albums | Photos | Similar Artists