Cæcilie Norby
Silent Ways
ACT ***1/2
With the husky Danish singer’s take on the opening track here of Duffy’s ‘Stepping Stone’ one of the surprise highlights of the various artists Magic Moments 6: In the Spirit of Jazz compilation recently I was looking forward to Silent Ways. And this is quite a band joining Norby typically expressive and in control. With her are her husband, brilliant bassist Lars Danielsson; the dynamic pianist Leszek Możdżer; Vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê and the less familiar Turkish/Swedish drummer Robert Mehmet Ikiz; along with saxophonist Marius Neset, on the ACT radar I think for the first time as a tasteful guest, especially on ‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty.

Leonard Cohen’s ‘In My Secret Life’, from 2001 album Ten New Songs, brings out the best of Norby here, and in some ways it’s even better than ‘Stepping Stone’. Mostly rock covers Możdżer lays out a solo on the Cohen song stocked here with a vocabulary of melodic imagination all of his own that takes the breath away while Norby luxuriates in the song. Not everything works: I wish Norby didn’t sing Dylan quite the way she does in such a cabaret style, but her infinitely pleasant easygoing blues vocal manner taps into a kind of a tradition you don’t often hear nowadays. Her middle of the road version of Paul Simon’s ‘Hearts and Bones’ could be played again and again on Radio 2, but probably won’t be.

Highlights? Well, Lê’s poignant solo on the title track is beautifully interpreted; and his interplay with the singer is a real education. But if you’re looking to Norby to ‘do edgy’ then forget about it. If, though, you’d prefer a singer who delivers quality interpretations of a range of mostly well chosen songs, then step this way. SG

Released at the end of May
Cæcilie Norby, top. Photo: Stephen Freiheit