Maria Jacobs has grown quite a bit since her earlier days when she sang jazz in Los Angeles. Born in Cleveland, she spent 11 years performing in L.A. before returning to the Midwest. Maria has since opened up her repertoire to include her own originals, folk songs (including several by Joni Mitchell), and any material that suits her interests and her voice. She has expanded her range, both vocally and in the subject matter and styles that she explores.
Maria’s previous CD, Art Of The Duo, featured her performing duets with four different musicians including guitarist Bob Fraser. Her fifth CD as a leader, Here Comes Winter, matches the singer with Fraser on all but one of the 11 selections. Brian Wildman or Bob Curry play bass on five numbers, keyboardist David Strieter is on one song, and Cliff Habian is heard on piano during a duet performance of “Fall In Love Again” in addition to contributing background string patches to four selections. Otherwise the music is all Jacobs and Fraser. The result is one of the singer’s most rewarding showcases to date.
On Here Comes Winter, Maria Jacobs performs three songs on which she wrote both the lyrics and the music, two others that she co-composed with Cliff Habian, three Joni Michell songs, Brian Wilson’s “In My Room,” and two jazz standards. While the emphasis is on slower tempos with close interplay between the singer and the guitarist, there is a lot of variety to the performances and they always hold on to one’s attention. Whether making high notes sound effortless, displaying quiet passion, or cutting loose like the best Broadway singer (one could imagine her “Fall In Love Again” being in a show), she is quite impressive. But in addition, Maria Jacobs often sings with quiet and restrained passion, sounding quite fetching on some of the more haunting pieces.
Among the highpoints of this excellent set are the melancholy and thoughtful original ballad “Here Comes Winter,” the modern torch song “Till Forever Comes,” and a wonderful version of the Joni Mitchell classic “From Both Sides Now.” On “Never Will I Marry,” Maria hints at Nancy Wilson a bit and expertly scats a Cannonball Adderley solo.
Here Comes Winter, a milestone in the career of Maria Jacobs, is easily recommended.
Scott Yanow, author of 11 books including The Jazz Singers