Judith Embley

This month will see the light Die romantische Seele, the latest record work of Judith Jáuregui. The Pianist has collaborated again with the label Ars Produktion, with whom she already recorded Pour Le tombeau by Claude Debussy.

"His 'n' Hers" affectionately pits Mr and Mrs O’Higgins against each other as in the movie, Mr & Mrs Smith… In reality, this is a swinging “tough tenors” band in the good humoured tradition of the great Johnny Griffin - Eddie Lockjaw Davis group, who made nine albums together between 1960 and 1962.

The Book of Judith tells the story of a fictitious Jewish woman beheading the general of the most powerful imaginable army to free her people. The parabolic story was set as an example of how God will help the righteous. Judith's heroic action not only became a validating charter myth of Judaism itself but has also been appropriated by many Christian and secular groupings, and has been an inspiration for numerous literary texts and works of art.

I initially thought that this Judith Owen album was a dicey proposition at best. Owen has been on a roll, as of late. Her last release, 2016’s Somebody’s Child, was a gem in the singer-songwriter genre. Actually, the album is a gem, period. Ebb & Flow, the release prior to that, made my list of best albums for 2014. She has also played a role in Smalls Change, the quirky new all-star release by Harry Shearer’s Spinal Tap alter-ego Derek Smalls. (Shearer is her husband.) Owen even carved out time for the Simpsons TV show in between successful tours of Europe and America, opening for Bryan Ferry.

A founding member of the Naumburg Award winning Lydian Quartet, with whom she played for over twenty years, Rhonda Rider is now a member of the celebrated piano trio Triple Helix.