Singer Lindsay Mendez and bandleader/pianist Marco Paguia
have prepared to release their debut jazz album “This Time.” The album saw a
digital only release back in May and will see a physical release in July to
coincide with their live concert at Birdland in New York City on July 21st.
Mendez may be known around the New York area for her stints on Broadway,
including her leading role in “Wicked.” Paguia is a musical
director and supervisor that has composed for a number of films and shows. The
two have teamed up with Pete Donovan (bass) and Tommy Crane (drums) to give
some of these modern and classic pop songs new life in jazz music.
The jazz re-arrangements on some of these songs work very
well, like in the album opener “Ordinary People” made famous by John Legend and
Alicia Keys’ “No One.” One of the biggest stretches is turning The Cars’ pop
classic “Just What I Needed” into a freeform jazz piece, but it’s tough to
forget such a popular song in order to show another side to Ric Ocasek’s
lyrics. Some of the more perfect matches are their cover of Stevie Wonder’s “As”
with Mendez’s vocals leading the way and “All My Days” from Alexi Murdoch,
which allows Paguia to stretch out a take control of the tempo. The album
closes with the piano gallop of “Sittin’ In the Middle” with Mendez keeping the beat with her vocals.
To find out more from this musical duo, please visit their
new website at lmandmp.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment