February 2008
The Sapphire Tree
With this, her third CD for La Brava, Bonnie J Jensen has moved
up several artistic and creative notches. The Sapphire Tree
is a highly mature and at the same time entertaining piece of
work, a superb balance of the familiar and the new.
Through this CD, Bonnie clearly demonstrates her wide range of
influences and inspirations. Familiar jazz standards (Night
In Tunisia, Angel Eyes, Night and Day) are here but are re-worked
effectively to give the melodies a needed freshness and vigor.
Tunes composed in the last 40 or so years by major instrumentalists
like Brian Blade and Jimi Hendrix help cement their compositions
as future standards and also introduce them to older (and sometimes
even the younger) listeners.
But above all are Bonnie’ own compositions, for which she also
serves as her own lyricist (a double skill few have ever mastered
– Cole Porter and Matt Dennis come most quickly to mind). The
title track The Sapphire Tree is a haunting yet lyrical
piece of work that ought to become an Australian standard. Aeroblue
continues an almost ancient tradition, the blues, but brings it
firmly into the new millennium. And Neon Soliloquy glows
with rhythmic subtlety and lyrics that hint rather than yell at
you, a common flaw among less-skilled wordsmiths.
Bonnie’s credentials are impressive for one still very much in
the prime of her career. She has earned a solid reputation with
(now) three critically acclaimed albums and a performance history
of exclusive international and local bookings. She continues to
spend a large amount of each year working internationally, most
recently in Hong Kong and Japan. Her second album, "Blue Joy"
reached No. 8 in Japan's Swing Journal Jazz Vocal Charts during
2004. As if that were not enough, Bonnie is an accomplished piano
player whose diverse influences range from Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett,
Eliane Elias and Chet Baker, to John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock
and Bob James.
As a vocalist, she is blessed with astonishing accuracy and a
deep feeling for her lyric. A sultry singer whose voice moves
effortlessly from standard jazz to bossa nova, pop, blues and
funk, she is clearly not a prisoner of any single musical style.
Her band cannot be praised highly enough. A very prominent Australian
musician/educator once told me he thought Mike Bukovsky is Australia’s
best-ever trumpeter. Alister Spence provides marvelous keyboard
support on several tracks, Craig Walters is consistently inventive
on tenor and soprano, and Fabian Hevia, Jeremy Sawkins and Jonathan
Swartz all contribute quite effectively. Unlike some vocalists,
Bonnie is very democratic in allotting solo time, so the myriad
talents of her band are brought to the fore on The Sapphire
Tree.
This exceptionally polished and inspiring CD is getting a fair
bit of overseas airplay, notably in Japan, the UK and the USA.
This is as it should be – few Australian albums showcase what
is excellent about our nation’s jazz scene so comprehensively.
