How Was it For You Smith

The swing revival was custom made for singers like Keely Smith. Keely Swings Basie Style… With Strings follows 2000's Swing, Swing, Swing and 2001's Grammy-nominated Keely Sings Sinatra, capping off a trilogy of lovingly performed classic jazz. Smith's backward glance, however, isn't just pure nostalgia. Keely Swings Basie Style, for instance, begins with Count Basie-style arrangements and then applies them to a number of songs not necessarily associated with the bandleader. The addition of strings provides another distinctive layer. Smith begins with "April in Paris" and brings her warm vocals to bear on a number of other classics, including "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe" and "How High the Moon." There's a particularly lovely take on "Mood Indigo" and a bouncy version of "Cherokee (Indian Love Song)"…

With 10 albums already under her own label BLONDELL PRODUCTIONS, Jocelyn felt the creative pause nearing. After a concert appearance as opener for Bobby McFerrin in 2004, Jocelyn woodshedded for 1 1/2 years. A creative quietness indeed was the engine that fueled her latest release in Nov 2006: EXPRESSIONZZ (live CD & DVD), an experience in the higher spritual quality of music, texted with poems from the "book of psalms" taken from the Bible. It is the much debated topic of tradion applied to the person and her/his life today.