Lucy Southern: Lucy Southern

California-born Lucy Southern, now based in France, is on a jazz journey that took her to Poland for the Seifert Competition. A wee-hours party ensued, a good time that rolled to the break of day. At one point, Southern and Michal Urbaniak, the Polish violinist, convened one-on-one to talk music. Urbaniak told Southern that he liked it when people just played, with no pretense of B.S. involved. He said that Southern was one of those 'just play' musicians and that he loved her style.

It was a party, and we can guess that alcohol—wine, vodka—was involved. But as they say, In vino veritas (or In vodka veritas ). On the evidence of Southern's eponymous EP release, Urbaniak was spot-on truthful about her approach.

Backed by her rhythm section of French bandmates, Southern presents a four-tune, 14-minute gem of a set, opening with the insouciant title tune, which features an infectious groove and a delightful sense of swing. "King's Friday" is a tribute to Chick Corea's "Armando's Rhumba" from the pianist's My Spanish Heart (Polydor/Verve, 1976), on which Jean-Luc Ponty played an inspiring violin solo.

Joni Mitchell's "California," from the singer's Blue (Reprise Records, 1971), is the highlight. With a folk-flavored vibe, it captures the early '70s California/Laurel Canyon vibe while bringing the albums of Creed Taylor's classic CTI outings of the era, which featured deft mixtures of jazz and pop music with an engaging grace.

Southern closes with a violin solo piece, "People Places and Things" (with overdubs), which speaks to her classical background with a pensive mood that is, perhaps, tinged with melancholy..

Leave 'em wanting more is standard advice for those in show business. Lucy Southern does just that here.

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