Jo Harrop & Paul Edis: When Winter Turns to Spring

Although Jo Harrop had previously released albums such as Songs for the Late Hours (Lateralize, 2019) and Weathering the Storm (Lateralize, 2020), the release of The Heart Waits (Lateralize, 2021) was a quantum leap forward for the Durham-born vocalist, not least because the album included fewer covers and far more original material than before. Harrop has said of that breakthrough album, "I sent my first lyrics to [pianist] Paul Edis and we wrote "If I Knew," which became the key that unlocked the door to creating this album." In fact, of the album's twelve tracks Harrop was credited with eight of them, and Edis with three, two jointly with Harrop. So, it is no surprise that Harrop and Edis are jointly credited on When Winter Turns to Spring and that all but two of its eleven tracks are credited to one or both of them.

As with her past albums, When Winter Turns to Spring is not a haphazard collection of songs, but has a theme running through it. Just as Weathering the Storm dealt with pathos and pain, while The Heart Wants focussed on love and life, losing and then finding oneself, so When Winter Turns to Spring is a reflective journey through the seasons; on this theme, the album's only two tracks not penned by Harrop or Edis are "When a Child is Born" by Thad Jones & Alex Wilder, and an Edis arrangement of Gustav Mahler's "In the Bleak Midwinter" played on piano and guitar with no vocals.

Whatever the subject matter, Harrop's voice is always versatile enough to eloquently convey a range of moods and emotions; she always makes this sound effortless and natural. Throughout the album, in addition to his roles as composer and arranger, Edis is ever present as accompanist or soloist, fully justifying his joint billing with Harrop. Where The Heart Waits featured a plethora of guest musicians, including the likes of Christian McBride, Jason Rebello and Troy Miller, this album needs no visitors as the accompaniment perfectly complements and showcases Harrop's voice throughout. Altogether, this album is another step on Harrop's route to superstardom.

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