With this 2009 album, Kerry Jo Hodgkin made a welcome, if short-lived return to the UK jazz scene. The album was released on 33 Records, produced by award-winning vocalist Ian Shaw and features some of the cream of UK jazz:
Kerry’s debut album “…and everything”, also released on 33 Records, came out in 2002. This was followed by a successful Jazz Services sponsored tour in 2003. Since then Kerry has taken time away from the main UK jazz scene to complete a Masters Degree in Literature – but her life-long love affair with music means that she could not stay away indefinitely.
Kerry’s silk-and-steel vocals have been likened to jazz legend Sheila Jordan and diva Eva Cassidy! With a blend of contemporary jazz, soul and blues originals and covers, this is a varied album. It includes some of Kerry’s own fine compositions, along with original takes on material as diverse as Randy Newman, Rodgers & Hart, Billy Bragg, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Arlen & Mercer, Sondheim & Bernstein and talented folk/blues duo Hensley & Wright. Interpretations include arrangements by Ian Shaw, celebrated jazz drummer Clark Tracey, rising star pianist/composer Janette Mason and Hodgkin herself.
Kerry's training as an actress brings with it an extraordinary ability to interpret lyrics, which, added to her innate musicality and exceptional vocal range, makes her an outstanding vocalist and performer. She is at once at home in the current UK jazz landscape, but with an accessibility capable of reaching across musical borders.
This is an exhilarating album of modern vocal jazz not to be missed!
Featuring:
Kerry Jo Hodgkin - vocals
Alan Barnes - sax/clarinet
Janette Mason - piano
Andy Davies - trumpet/flugel
Nick Pugh - bass
Mark Fletcher - drums.
Tracks:
Take Me (K.Hodgkin)
Tupelo Honey (V.Morrison)
Cool (L.Bernstein / S.Sondheim)
Unseen (S.Hensley / J.Wright)
Black Crow (J.Mitchell)
Dreamtime (K.Hodgkin)
Until The Real Thing Comes Along / Good Morning Heartache (Holinger / Nichols / Cahn / Chaplin / Freeman + Higginbotham / Drake / Fisher)
Valentine's Day Is Over (B.Bragg)
Let The Rain Fall Here (S.Hensley / J.Wright)
Real Emotional Girl (R.Newman)
My Favourite Things (R.Rodgers / L.Hart)
I Keep Going Back To Joe's / One For My Baby (Fischer / Segal + Arlen / Mercer)
