JERSEY JAZZ

by Joseph Lang
January Edition

If you, need a pick me up, why not grab hold of a copy of Glitter & Grits (NTL Records) by vocalist DEBORAH SILVER.  For this 13-song album, she is joined by the Western Swing crew Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel plus a variety of guest musicians and backup singers.  What they have produced is a collection of fun music with elements of jazz, country and classic pop meshing to create steadily infectious sounds.  The emphasis is on songs from the Great American Songbook, including the likes of “I Got Rhythm,” “That Old Black Magic,” “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “After You’ve Gone, “Almost Like Being in Love,” “Get Happy,” “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive,” “Embraceable You,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Fly Me to the Moon.”  Add in a couple of old warhorses, “Ballin’ the Jack” and “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home” plus “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” and you have a rompin,’ stompin’ good time program.  Silver, who has survived a bout with a rare bone disease when she first became a mother, and a recent 40-day battle with COVOD-19 emits the kind of verve and grit that comes naturally to a born fighter.  (www.DeborahSilverMusic.com)