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Rating: Patricia Barber has been breathing jazz since childhood, given that her father, Floyd "Shim" Barber, played the saxophone in Glenn Miller's orchestra. But unlike many reckless children of art, she has managed to carve out an important space among jazz interpreters.
In recent years, she has recorded a series of very interesting albums. See, for example, her particular interpretations of some standards in the 2000 CD "Nightclub".
"Verse" represents, however, a turning point for the singer-pianist, as it presents, for the first time, ten original tracks written by Barber herself (with the sole exception of "Dansons la gigue" whose lyrics are taken from a poem by Paul Verlaine), which highlight the achievement of her complete artistic maturity.
It is not an easy album, but once you get past the initial impact, you seriously risk falling in love with it.
Its stylistic structure is not uniform. It ranges from ethereal, nocturnal settings (The moon), to almost pop sounds (Lost In This Love), up to notes soaked in mystery (Clues), melancholy, and reflection (If I Were Blue).
Barber's hypnotic, clean, penetrating voice perfectly adapts to the context.
The musicians accompanying her are excellent, particularly Neal Alger on the guitar and Dave Douglas on the trumpet, who manage to leave an indelible mark with their solos and during the dialogues with Barber's voice.
Perhaps "Verse" is an album more suited to the autumnal climate changes than these now summery sunny days. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful record, thanks especially to the refinement and poetry of the performer.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Pieces (05:35)
There's a piece in the chair
A piece in the hall
A nice piece of me
Stuck to the wall
Divide and conquer
The jigsaw in you
Has left asunder
All over the room
There's a piece by the clock
Clinging awkwardly to time
There's a piece by the piano
Clinging stubbornly to rhyme
There's a fun piece of me
In a crack in the floor
An innocent piece
Who walked out the door
Call me a doctor
Or a structural engineer
Draft me a past and a future
That consent to adhere
Give me a pill that makes cohesion
A farmacological thing
Bring me the tape and the twine
The blueprint design
To fit the scraps and the threads
To the feet and the legs
There's a piece that was pretty
For a moment or two
But my mouth and my lips
Are somehow askew
A piece of a hero
Is behind the TV
The piece with the glue
Is looking for pieces for me
There's a piece in Detroit
A piece in L.A.
New York is a critic
She's funny that way
There's a piece prone to panic
A big piece is blue
All the pieces agree
The best piece went with you
In fragments and tatters scattered
All over the road
Each piece has the other
But no piece is a hall
Little maps in their pockets
Reflections of possibility
The pieces pick themselves up
Dust themselves off
... And start all over again
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