'StringSongs' by Laura Crema and Bill Coons
Were guitarist Bill Coon and his fellow Canadian, singer Laura Crema, to inform you of their longtime musical friendship's current culmination in StringSongs, they might tell you that their shared jazz base was also informed by country, folk, country and Latin undercurrents. True and apparent as those descriptors are, the end effect makes for a kind of chamber jazz minimal and intimate. Balancing dedication to structures and improvisatory whims, the duo crafted a collection that reflects upon camaraderie and lonesomeness in terms both poetic and plaintive.
Jon Bentley on saxophone and cellist Peggy Lee enhance the headlining duo’s mingling of melancholy and mirth without drawing undue attention to their contributions. Crema's vocalizing recalls a melodically adventuresome Edie Brickell with a lower range resonant of Julie London. She applies her gift to lyrics mostly written with this project in mind, but not without room for adapting some Henry Longfellow verse, a couple of scatting outings and a wait-for-it unlisted bonus cut that puts her and Coon’s spin on a Bing Crosby chestnut.
