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Spin This by Karen Blixt
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fave it Jazz Vocals | Swing/Big Band
13 tracks | 62 minutes
Released Feb 2006
on HiFli Records
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:35 Swingin' The Blues lyrics BUY MP3 04:35 Swingin' The Blues lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:35 Swingin' The Blues
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:14 Carefully Taught lyrics BUY MP3 05:14 Carefully Taught lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:14 Carefully Taught
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:12 My Favorite Things lyrics BUY MP3 04:12 My Favorite Things lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:12 My Favorite Things
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:53 You Don't Know Me lyrics BUY MP3 05:53 You Don't Know Me lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:53 You Don't Know Me
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 08:24 Night and Day lyrics BUY MP3 08:24 Night and Day lyrics "GIFT MP3" 08:24 Night and Day
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:37 Spin This lyrics BUY MP3 04:37 Spin This lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:37 Spin This
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:46 It's Over Now (Well, You Needn't) lyrics BUY MP3 03:46 It's Over Now (Well, You Needn't) lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:46 It's Over Now (Well, You Needn't)
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 00:21 Now It's Over lyrics BUY MP3 00:21 Now It's Over lyrics "GIFT MP3" 00:21 Now It's Over
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 06:59 When You're Smiling lyrics BUY MP3 06:59 When You're Smiling lyrics "GIFT MP3" 06:59 When You're Smiling
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:04 Kitchen Blue lyrics BUY MP3 04:04 Kitchen Blue lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:04 Kitchen Blue
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:56 Four lyrics BUY MP3 04:56 Four lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:56 Four
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 05:22 I Thought About You lyrics BUY MP3 05:22 I Thought About You lyrics "GIFT MP3" 05:22 I Thought About You
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:19 Something So True lyrics FREE 04:19 Something So True lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:19 Something So True
Vocalist Karen Blixt and allstar cast including Joey DeFrancesco, Russell Ferrante, Alex Acuna and Paul McCandless deliver hip arrangements of classic standards and cool originals.
Editorial review
Appearances can be deceiving when it comes to music. In some photos, Karen Blixt sports a singer/songwriter-ish type of look -- the sort of folk-rock or adult alternative look that one might have if she were opening for Sarah McLachlan, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin or the Indigo Girls. Well, there is certainly nothing wrong with opening for any of those artists -- a lot of young singer/songwriters would kill for the opportunity -- but Blixt's debut album, Spin This, has nothing to do with folk-rock or adult alternative. The Bay Area resident is clearly a hardcore jazz vocalist; Blixt has the type of post-bop/hard bop hipness one associates with Sheila Jordan, Kitty Margolis, Judy Niemack and Karrin Allyson, sometimes adding a touch of soul-jazz. Blixt (who is joined by organist Joey DeFrancesco on four of the tracks) doesn't get as deeply into soul-jazz as Ernestine Anderson or Dee Dee Bridgewater, but the soul-jazz element is definitely present on Count Basie's "Swingin' the Blues" and a few other tracks. Blixt pays a little too much attention to warhorses for her own good; "Night and Day," "When You're Smiling" and "I Thought About You" have been so beaten to death over the years that most of the younger jazz singers would do well to avoid them. But Blixt does offer her share of surprises; "Carefully Taught" is a Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein tune that hasn't been overdone, and the title track (which Blixt co-wrote with pianist/keyboardist Frank Gayer Martin) is a clever but angry political rant with an Eddie Jefferson-ish vibe. Also quite engaging is Blixt and Martin's melancholy "Kitchen Blue." Despite its excess of warhorses, Spin This is a generally promising debut and makes one hope that Blixt's catalog will grow to be much larger. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Bio / Background
Spin This includes very different interpretations of widely-familiar tunes ranging from an exciting odd-meter “My Favorite Things” to a vocal duet with organ B-3 master Joey DeFrancesco on “When You’re Smiling.” Surprises such as Thelonius Monk’s “It’s Over Now” accompanied by only two bass clarinets, and Miles Davis’ “Four” with four choruses sung effortlessly at break-neck speed, signal that this is not standard vocal fare. Blixt also includes two little known gems, the provocative “Carefully Taught” from South Pacific, and Count Basie’s virtually unsung classic, “Swingin’ The Blues.” Add to that, three originals penned by Karen and her collaborator on this album, jazz and pop veteran producer and arranger, Frank Martin.
The album’s refreshing diversity of material represents not only the broad span of her musical career, but also of her life.
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