O’s Notes: Sylvia Brooks Live is a warm set of ballads backed by musical director, pianist Christian Jacob and his band. The place is Herb Albert’s Vibrato Jazz Grill in Los Angeles. Sylvia’s soft vocals and rich tones are perfect for these blues-based ballads with very intriguing stories. Among the best are “Blues In the Night” – an instrumental, “The Red Pig Flew Up the Hill” with sweet horn harmonies, and “Tender Trap” with Jacobs dazzling solo. This is a fine showcase of the headliner’s songwriting and musical talents.
Female Jazz Vocalists You Need to Be Listening to Right Now
Jazz has always had an individual and moody storytelling quality. Instrumentalists have been instrumental (pun intended) in crafting its history, but vocalists are the ones who often close that gap between music and listener. Via the choices they make in phrasing,...



