Daria
Just the Beginning
Jazz 'm up 350

Daria, vocals, background vocals; Jonathan Alford, keyboards; Bill Douglass, acoustic bass; Gary Brown, electric bass; Curt Moore, drums; Ian Dogole, Karl Perazzo, percussion; Dmitri Matheny, fluegelhorn; Sheldon Brown, bass clarinet; Marsha Miget, saxophone, flute

Daria's first CD, abbreviated as it is, succeeds admirably on a purely musical level, and with one exception, as dramatic art as well. Daria has all the equipment to propel her into the top ranks of contemporary Jazz vocalistsa well-endowed voice, extensive range, diction, and an unerring sense of dynamics and time. As for interpretation, she fares well on four of the five selections on this curiously truncated introductory disc, the exception being Earl Brent and Matt Dennis's weeper, "Angel Eyes," on which Daria sounds far too perky and upbeat as she ponders the whereabouts of her lover. She fares much better on Jobim's "Children's Games," Strayhorn's and Ellington's "Day Dream," the standard "You Stepped Out of a Dream" (arranged as a samba), and her own composition, "Japanese Love Song."

The supporting cast, by the way, is excellent, especially front-liners Matheny, Alford, Brown, and Miget. It doesn't require a crystal ball to predict that you'll be hearing much more from Daria.

by Jack Bowers

Just the Beginning is available through the Jazz Now Direct CD Store.