Making her debut with her first solo album Welcome to My World (****) New York City-born singer Joyce Elaine Yuille, a former backing singer for Gloria Gaynor, is joined by the empathetic band of tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, the Finn plus pianist/organist Georgios Kontrafouris, bassist Antti Lötjönen, drummer Ville Pynssi and percussionist Abdissa Assefa on an album of mainly new jazz and soul-flavoured material. Covers of Donny Hathaway’s ‘Tryin’ Times,’ a song that appeared on 1970’s Everything is Everything, and Marvin Gaye’s ‘It’s Madness’ also feature.
Recorded in Milan extra horns are added on a joyous very natural version of Rodgers Grant and Ruth Grant’s ‘Just Say Goodbye,’ covered by Esther Phillips in the 1960s.
Little Esther's version of the song, above
‘Running for My Love’ and ‘Come With Me’ are among the Yuille co-writes, a second slower version of the latter draws the album to a thoughtful conclusion. The strings and woodwind of Silvia Catasta’s Synthonic Orchestra also feature on some tracks.
Yuille, whose influences include Sarah Vaughan and Phyllis Hyman, has an attractively expressive low toned jazz and soul voice. The album, the cover of which is above, is released on the Schema label in April, and a live version of ‘Tryin’ Times’ can be listened to top with more from Yuille on the album above, centre in a promotional interview issued by the label. Stephen Graham