JENNIFER MADSEN

REIMAGINE

SingBaby Productions,LLC

Jennifer Madsen, voice; Brent Edstrom, piano/arranger; Clipper Anderson, bass; Mark Ivester, drums. SPECIAL GUESTS: Sean Jones, flugelhorn; Howard Levy, harmonica.

Jennifer Madsen has one of those familiar, crystal-clear voices that wraps around her lyrics like invisible arms.  She hugs the words close to her chest, then transmits the emotional signature of these standard songs, singing to her audience in an honest, sincere way.

She opens with the familiar “Body and Soul” featuring the very talented Sean Jones on flugelhorn. He issues a sweet solo as the introduction to this up-tempo arrangement of a song we usually hear recorded as a ballad.  Jennifer Madsen swings the tune, with the help of her stellar group of musicians.

I admire the Brent Edstrom arrangement of “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love,” using the bass of Clipper Anderson to set the tempo and mood of the song. With this unique bass line leading the way, Anderson sings like a descant against the familiar melody. Mark Ivester slaps excitement into the song on his drums, while Jennifer’s vocal floats above their groove in a dynamic way.

Ms. Madsen currently holds a monthly residency at the Edison house, an exclusive arts club in Salt Lake City, Utah.  She is a nationally recognized jazz vocalist, producer and educator who, as a working artist, performs regularly with big bands, jazz orchestras, trios and quartets.

On this album she has chosen eleven songs we know and love like “Willow Weep for Me” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.”  Others you will recognize are “You Don’t Know What Love is” and “Honeysuckle Rose.”  Each standard song is arranged uniquely by Brent Edstrom and sung with gusto and expressiveness by Madsen.

When Jennifer isn’t in the studio or on stage, you will find her inspiring young jazz vocalists and aspiring songwriters at Snow College where she teaches jazz vocals, commercial voice, and singer-songwriter techniques.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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