Jo Harrop: The Heart Wants

Is it the behind-the-beat feel Ms Harrop gets, even when she is not? Or perhaps it is in the phrasing? Somehow, she puts a listener in mind of Keely Smith, which is a good thing. There are some very talented jazz singers in the United Kingdom; Jo Harrop is certainly one of them. Here is a recording of loss and longing, and very well done it is.

Much of the material Harrop presents in this recording, bluesy, mournful in a minor key, is original. She discloses a considerable talent as a songwriter and, of course, she knows just how she wants the interpretation to go. Harrop is surrounded by a group of excellent musicians who only enhance the feelings she evokes. There are times, as in "Wise Words," when the mood is mildly sanctified. "Red Mary Janes," on the other hand, with a dead-on rhythm section, is ironic and arch. Somehow, one wonders if the red mary janes to which she alludes are shoes. "I Think You Better Go" and "Hold On" manage to evoke contrary emotions based on the kind of complicated adult relationship that real people contrive to create. Yet it would sound good in a Texas road house near the end of the night. "Life Inside" brings on vocal accompaniment, just a touch, but effective. "What If" is so subtly done that it takes a bit to realize that Ms Harrop is singing in three quarter time. "If I Knew" is a kind of pour the martinis song, not sentimental, but still soulful. Somehow, Harrop manages to do a lot of crying without shedding too many tears, blues for the disillusioned, but not embittered. She has a smoky sound to her voice, aged, even weary, but not dark.

No-one would think that anyone could do a song from the musical "Camelot" in this day and age without somehow sounding corny or at least affected, without a touch of Bob Goulet. Well, Harrop manages, navigating all the subtle harmonies which a more melodramatic version effectively obscures. So, yes, it is not surprising that Harrop has managed to cause a stir in the United Kingdom.

It is not fair to wonder how Harrop would come off with a different genre, or up tempo. This is a kind of "only the lonely" album, and should be appreciated for that. The full range of Harrop's talents will certainly be well served in another recording, which one hopes, will appear soon.

She closes out with "there is nothing we can't do." You do believe her.

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