PALOMA

MEMORY

The Audiophile Society

Paloma Dineli Chesky, vocals; Michael Hilgendorf, guitar/musical conductor; Maxwell Barnes, tenor saxophone; Danno Peterson, drums; Chris Ramirez, bass.

To open this album, Paloma’s honey sweet vocals caress the familiar melody of a very popular song for singers, “Summertime.”  The drums open this arrangement with a funk beat.  Maxwell Barnes has a warm, Stan-Getz-kind-of-style on tenor saxophone.  His solo puts the “J” in jazz. However, the contemporary arrangement is geared more to Paloma’s voice and style.

Paloma Dineli Chesky, is a composer and lyricist who has written six out of the nine tunes on this album. This is meant to be a crossover project, embracing the freedom and improvisation of jazz, combined with her original songwriting, and the contemporary arrangements that lean heavily towards a pop direction.

“I want to tie different styles and ideas together.  What I’m showcasing is who I am now through chords and lyrics that tell a story.  I am sharing my experiences and hoping to connect deeply with my audience,” Paloma explains.

A song she calls “Sober Now” introduces fusion jazz into the production. On her rendition of “Corcovado,” sung in Portuguese, you hear this sensuous jazz singer step fully into the potential of her talent. She sounds natural and comfortable singing Brazilian music. After all, Paloma’s mother, Patricia Dineli, is a Brazilian classical actress from Sao Paulo.  Her father is David Chesky, a pianist and composer. Music runs deep in her family.  Latin music clearly compliments her voice.

Paloma follows this popular Jobim tune with the traditional American folk song, “House of the Rising Sun.”  Here, she shows off her ability to switch genres and puts a bit of growl into her vocals.

Paloma has a style and recognizable tone that dubs her, not just another singer, but a ‘stylist.’  That means, if you hear her voice once, you will recognize her the next time.  That’s true of other artists who became huge stars because of their unique sounds, like Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight or Sade.

Unfortunately, I feel as though some of these musical arrangements do not support her songwriting. For example, on a song she calls “When the Moon’s Away.”  The chord changes provided by her musical conductor are not necessarily supportive of her melody.  I walked away from this album thinking, perhaps she needs written arrangements by a professional arranger.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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