Music Review: Brigitte Zarie - 'L'amour'

By Christopher Zoukis, BLOGCRITICS.ORG
Published 10:00 pm, Friday, January 17, 2014
Jazz music is funny in that good jazz has the quality of being inscrutable. In other words, good jazz is music that grabs you somewhere in your head or your heart or your viscera. And you really, really like it. It moves you. But no matter how hard you try, you can't explain why you like it so much. It's inscrutable. There's a certain arcane energy to it. And bad jazz, well, it strains all tolerance. Bad jazz makes you grind your teeth; it's nothing more than style over substance, a veneer of pleasing countenance over rough bumps and gouges. And of course, bad jazz generates bad jazz singers, so much so that they not only abound, like fungus growing on wheat, but sound as if they just dropped in from the Oligocene epoch of geological Deep Time; rumbly, quaking voices, the offshoot of ensuing concatenations of cause and effect, chanting impenetrable dirges.

Fortunately, a few good jazz singers still exist, most of whom are female. Exactly why jazz subsidizes women over men is open to debate. My theory is this: female voices contain some nuance inside them that lends conviction to melancholy. Norah Jones comes to mind, as does Diana Krall. Her voice can get redundant, as can her grandiose, glitzy productions. Too much Krall makes me think of exhausted gorillas, every one of them tired of imitating human noises.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-Brigitte-Zarie-L-amour-5156037.php

Brigitte Zarie

Introducing BRIGITTE ZARIE, vocalist , composer and lyricist . Her new CD release , "Make Room For Me". A fantastic collection of all new , all original Jazz compositions written by Brigitte & performed by Brigitte's BigBand and Jazz Quintet. Old school never sounded so new ! An incredible rhythm section & stellar guest artists including , Randy Brecker & Jeff Golub , Tom Malone -Al Chez & Bruce Kapler from the David Letterman Show, and a host of NY's top session players helped to make this a CD to remember.

Brigitte's international flavor shines thru, (she speaks 3 languages), on a second version of the title track recorded in French. She has also had songs from her catalogue,'' Tutto Se Perme'' performed and recorded by UK pop/opera artist Russell Watson in English and Italian ,as well as UK singer John Christos. Other compositions have been featured on TV shows such as the O.C. , MTV, The Real World & TV Movies like Snow2:BrainFreeze and Future Cars. Her voice has been featured on spots for The NBA , Southwest Air , Toyota , Scotch Tape , Kay Jewelers and many Feature Films such as Pokemon , and upcoming summer releases FoodFight and LonelyStreets just to name a few. "Make Room For Me". A collection of great "NEW" jazz compositions destined to be the standards of tomorrow. Get a taste and get in the mood ! Check out Brigitte Zarie on MYSpace for a preview or visit http://www.brigittezarie.com/

Influences
Frank Sinatra , Ella Fitzgerald , Sarah Vaughn , Billy Holiday, Elvis , Mihalia Jackson , Stan Getz , Neil Jason , Benny Goodman , Nelson Riddle , Peggy Lee , Count Basie,Buddy Rich, Gershwin, Mozart, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff,Oum Kalthoum, Bobby Darin, Burt Bacharach, Marvin Gaye , Barry White, Antonio Carlos Jobim ,Nat Cole,Ramsey Lewis ,Johnny Cash.My sax, keyboard playing Father.My Beautiful singing Mother. My brothers and sisters all 9 of them, and All the great songwriters of the world......And all the Spiritual sages that Guide me.!!

Reflections
I HAD The best time recording this record, worked with so many great musicians, all bringing with them, amazing talent and generosity. Jazz is a music I have followed since I was a little girl, about 6 or 7 . My parents come from Casablanca Morocco. My father was a jazz musician, He played sax, keys, and every moroccan instrument you can Imagine. my mother a singer.. One night many years ago, my dad was playing a gig at a club In Casablanca and my mom walked In with her friends, my mother wanted the band to play a song she loved ,and my father said 'only If you dance with me" ,they danced through 10 children. They moved and raised us all In Toronto Canada. Music was everywhere In my house .My parents would throw huge parties, dad would play the keys and the Lute ( a moroccan Instrument) and smoke cigars, my mother would sing In french and everyone would be sitting on pillows .I remember the music ,but I also remember the smoke.

Man ,they use to smoke some s-t! My dad always said It was a cigar ,but ,sure didn't look like one to me ,now that I think of it. Another fond memory was ,my oldest brother Danny getting ready for a date with Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim in the background ,and my other brother Joe use to play guitar and make me sing and make up words to everything he would play.. .I was writing songs since I was a little girl. Never occured to me to sing someone else's songs ,even though there are many, many, great ones. ,..My love for Frank Sinatra was no secret either, I use to go to sleep listening to strangers in the night, or Break up with a boy friend and cry myself to sleep with Micheal Franks or Stan Getz. My family use to think I was nuts for listening to Stan Getz and Frank Sinatra as a kid. Another monumental experience for me was the night , my mom and dad drove me and my sister Sylvia to Buffalo to shop for dresses, we couldn't afford to stay In a hotel ,and my parents had a big van ,so we slept In it until the store would open the next morning.

We slept in the van, across the street from a jazz club,Be-bop I believe. I remember loving the music while my folks were asleep ,and really stunned by what I heard . Trying to stay up and listen to every note that was played, even though there was a bunch of wino's trying to check us out through the window. The great sounds coming out of the club, took over my fear of the wino's. I could still hear and see that night as clear as day.I know I was suppose to be In that exact spot, listening to that music for a reason, It was something , I feel, was my very first Introduction to the music of my life,the music I would love to sing and write.

I have written many songs for other artists In every genre pop,R&b ,even Rock, many songs for movies ,but this Is The only music that always came very natural for me . Jazz. Nothing In my life has ever happened without reason this I know for sure.. ,, I was placed In Buffalo, on that night ,to hear the music of my future. A young girl, with my parents sleeping In a van ,that fit all of us.Tight man ,but sure felt five star to me. I had both my beautiful parents beside me, they were young and they were healthy. and I was listening to the best sounds coming out of that club. I was there, to be here now. Its been a long, long journey getting here, but looks like Im finally home."
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