Valentina Marino - In The Name Of Love

Facts Marino is a vocalist with a unique style and vision. She is ravishing in terms of sound and sensibility. She gives wonderful shape to songs upon which she casts her own special spotlight. Marino infuses lyrics with soulful power and brings them to life in the most colourful human way possible. The musical characters live and breathe in her vocalisations. You can almost feel her moist breath come through the speakers as Valentina Marino starts to sing. Textural transparencies resonate around the room as words leap and pirouette in balletic splendour. But there is more: there is no copying in sight here. Yes, you will recall Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, but nowhere will you find even a semblance of imitation in Marino's vocals. She is an exceptional original. The musicians also make their marks here in the manner of their support of this fine singer. Cameron Brown is his usual spectacular self with the gravitas of his contributions on the double bass. So are pianist Alberto Pibiri and the drummer Anthony Pinciotti. But I like also the masterful playing and the rich tonal colours of Max Zooi's bass clarinet on the record, as well as his saxophone on David Bowie's Space Oddity, which to my mind is also a courageous selection for a jazz record such as this. Best of all are the production values of the recording. Too often the wonders of the human voice are subject to so much digitisation that it sounds almost contrived. Valentina Marino, however, is heard in all her visceral splendour and this is also something to cheer about.