Norma Winstone, Distances (ECM). The British singer places the purity of her voice, intonation and phrasing in the spare setting of Glauco Venier’s piano and Klaus Gesing’s soprano sax. Winstone’s songs include that rarity, a successful vocal version of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” and pieces by Cole Porter, Eric Satie, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Peter Gabriel. She uses her artistic range to bring disparate compositional styles into a collection not unlike a suite. Winstone comes close to jauntiness in her calypso sparring with Gesing’s bass clarinet in “A Song for England,” but the pervasive characteristics of this recital of vocal chamber music are peacefulness and emotional depth.
Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...
