Denise Perrier

East Meets West

Chez Perrier Records

Denise Perrier, vocals; Andrei Kondakov, Tammy Hall, piano; Gregory Voskoboynikov, Kash Killion, bass; Sergi Ostroumov, Jimmy Robinson, drums; Igor Timotfeyev, Bobby Tynes, saxophones; Joel Gonsalves, Raul Ramirez, percussion

One has been reading about Denise Perrier, and comes to the conclusion that all the other reviewers were grabbing her releases before I could get my hands on one. It figures. Ms. Perrier has a big voice, great command of a lyric and, moreover, a super selection of musicians out of St. Petersburg, Russia and San Francisco, California. The Russian men come on about as Russian as Bill Cosby. Catch the Russians on Besame Mucho (not our all-time favorite number, as such), Timofeyev on tenor wails right and proper. In other words, Jazz is played in anyone's language and it all comes out right. Denise Perrier is a dead ringer for nightclubs and giving the folks out front a really good evening of entertainment. There really is a lot of Jazz to be heard. The lady is wonderful on Don't Explain (Kondakov is totally convincing on piano), Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?, and Day Dream.

You are not likely to regret owning this CD. Good music, good musicians, good singer.

by Lawrence Brazier

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