Deborah Latz, Fig Tree

I've never been anything less than honest on these blog pages and I am not about to stop that. Truth is, your own mood and the music you hear do not always mesh. The first thing a fellow like me must do is recognize that there are times when a CD can be very good, even excellent, yet expresses a mood that is miles away from your own. That is the case with vocalist Deborah Latz and her new CD Fig Tree (June Moon Productions 3 0304).

She's good. Very good. She is backed by a solid, small jazz group. The problem is with me right now. Her music is pretty darned happy and I am currently pretty darned hapless. So honestly, when she sings "nothing but blue skies from now on," along with "S'Wonderful," "I'm Having A Good Time," and these joyous sorts of songs, as well as she does them, I have a thought-phrase in my head, remembering Shakespeare, namely "Sirrah, you mock me!"

It's not all joy there, though, there is also "Ill Wind." But it's high spirited much of the time. What I must do is put my mood aside, and I've been doing my best in that wise this week as I've been hearing the disk.

It is not her fault if my mood is grim. She has a marvelous instrument and she uses it to give you nuanced vocal performances of the highest sort. She is less a swinger than a proclaimer, a chanteuse, a declamatory jazz artist. And what she does is singular, hers. I don't like it right now because my life doesn't match the mood. But I like it anyway because I recognize she is very good.

So there you have it. A real singer!!