February 24 - 25, 2007
About The Sapphire Tree
Sydney vocalist and pianist Bonnie J Jensen retains most of
the quality jazz players in this septet from her previous two
albums. She's composed three tracks, collaborated on arrangements
and plays accompanying piano on several. There are standards,
some unusual vocal pieces and one down-home blues number, "Ain't
No Use".
Her style is nightclub chanteuse, drawing on many influences,
sounding sometimes reminiscent of Renee Geyer, at others [times]
traces of Peggy Lee or Sarah Vaughan emerge.
Soloists have adequate space: saxophonist Craig Walters contributes
sympathetically, Jeremy Sawkins delivers effortless guitar and
Miroslav Bukovsky's broad-toned trumpet is super-heated on "A
Night in Tunisia", a challenging vocal piece, cleverly arranged
with unusual variations. Jensen's title ballad, an original, displays
a talent for both musical composition and poetic lyrics, evident
too on "Neon Soliloquy": "Like a diamond in the river,
as precious as African rain, this glimpse of bliss will sustain
you - again and again."
