JERSEY JAZZ

March/April Edition

by Joseph Lang

Dallas-based vocalist CAROLYN LEE JONES is one of those singers who deserves to reach a wider audience, and her latest release, Close Your Eyes (Catn’round Sound), should help to earn her just that.  The twelve tracks find her in various instrumental settings from a trio to an octet.  She brings a nice freshness to even the most familiar selections like “Close Your Eyes,’ “No Moon At All,” “The Nearness of You,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” and “I Only Have eyes for You.”  Then she finds a few mostly overlooked gems such as “I Was a Fool,” “Love After Midnight,” “When I Found You” and “All Night Long.”  It is always fun to hear the whimsical Dietz and Schwartz song from The Bandwagon, “Confession.”  Jones is comfortable at any tempo, and is attentive to each lyric that she sings.  In a market flooded with new vocal releases, it is nice to find one that stands out like Close Your Eyes. (www.carolynleejones.com)