Tina Carr: Moon Over Mildmay

Though jazz has been woven through Tina Carr's life since childhood, she came to performing later than most, launching her career after decades in another profession. Yet she has swiftly established herself on the scene, collaborating with respected musicians across the circuit and earning widespread acclaim for her debut album, Songs For Curly (Self Produced, 2023).

She returns with Moon Over Mildmay, her second release. The album centers on reimagined standards, each shaped to fit her distinctive voice, many enhanced with original lyrics by Carr. Pianist Matt Robinson joins her as both pianist and musical director, alongside a host of sympathetic musicians who gel together as a unit and provide excellent contributions.

Carr possesses a lived-in voice, husky and warm-toned, perfectly suited to wistful, late-night songs in dimly lit clubs. The lightly swinging opener, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," shows her smart vocal phrasing against tightly arranged horns, with notable turns from trombonist Kieran McLeod and drummer Rod Oughton.

"Take Me Home" is Carr's adaptation of Mal Waldron's "All Alone" and it works superbly, complemented by a terrific interplay from McLeod and bassist Oli Hayhurst, while violinist Aanu Sodipe gracefully draws out the mournful melody. For the title track, Carr creates a fresh version of film composer David Raskin's "Love Song" from Apache (listeners may be familiar with Coleman Hawkins' cover). Once again she revels in extracting the emotion from this hauntingly beautiful, slow-tempo ballad.

Beyond the bittersweet torch songs, there is the swing of "The Ass' Song," where Carr's narrative gifts shine alongside excellent solos from alto saxophonist Sam Newbould and trumpeter Miguel Gorodi. Carr and Gorodi also excel on "The Crazy Woman," a setting of Gwendolyn Brooks' poem—Brooks being the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. On "Ouve O Silencio," by Brazilian composer Claudio Santoro, Carr's lyrics find an ideal complement in Tom Ollendorff's sensitive guitar work.

Among other gems, there is pleasure to be derived from well-known standards like "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well," which keep the magic flowing. It all adds up to a delightful listen, as Carr adds her smoky voice and distinct charm to the great jazz vocal tradition.