Toni Jannotta
Is it Magic?
Aerie Records

Jazz vocalist Toni Jannotta has penned most of the songs on her new album, they are rounded off by some well-chosen covers. "Square Peg Round Hole" is one of these originals, a playful song that brings out the best in Jannotta's supple vocals and the band's playing.

"Borderline" was in an earlier life a Madonna song, here it's reborn as contemporary jazz and the transition is smooth. "Pluto" is a reflective song with a nice, clean arrangement and a lovely piano bit. "Narcissus And Echo" visits the realm of Greek Myth with the tale of the self-obsessed Narcissus and the nymph Echo who loved him in vain and faded away. Jannotta tells the story quietly and with great vocal dexterity. Her band follows her lead well. And yes, it's magic.

Copyright © 2008 Anna Maria Stjärnell