AP Reviews (UK)
HAVE YOU EVER peered into the midnight-blue yonder to pick out its brightest astral personalities, and then watched in awe as endless constellations begin to unfold before your eyes? A metaphor, perhaps, for the magical, prolific songwriting and performing collaboration of vocalist/lyricist Georgia Mancio and pianist/composer Alan Broadbent, revealing still more wonder in new release Quiet Is The Star.
Following a chanced-upon opportunity in 2013 to perform together as a duo, Mancio and Broadbent began to build a collection of co-written material, some of which the double Grammy award-winning pianist had penned, many years ago, as wordless instrumental pieces waiting for wings. All was revealed in 2017’s glorious Songbook – its quartet line-up completed by double bassist Oli Hayhurst and drummer Dave Ohm – and this successful pairing of authoritative musicianship and heartfelt poetry kindled an ongoing creative partnership which has led to a current total of 33 exquisite songs in the tradition of timeless jazz standards (all newly published in a desirable lead-sheet songbook*).
The nine numbers of Quiet Is The Star find the two artists in their pure, alchemic environment of pianist and vocalist, exposing the structure, detail and elegance of sensitively-crafted songs whose themes reflect love, loss, family, friendship and empathy. Georgia Mancio’s ability to complement Alan Broadbent’s music with the perfect lyric, and then deliver it either at breathtaking speed or with lush, romantic eloquence, never wanes. This selection focuses largely on the latter, with a fine, balladic style redolent of, say, Rodgers and Hart or Johnny Mercer.
Such comparison can be heard in the sunshiny yet lost-love resignation of I Can See You Passing By (“No need to say hello when it’s goodbye”) or the fond, sisterly recollections breezily portrayed in All My Life (“I think of that child, all her thoughts running wild with exhilaration … you will listen to me, take my side, let me see all the things that I still can be”). Let Me Whisper To Your Heart continues the close-family theme with its emotive but sweet legacy of beautiful images (“Let me welcome each sunrise … and find you”), while elegant Tell The River expresses a deep desire for justice and freedom (“Tell my children to grow strong and healthy … tell them you will find me free”).
An early Alan Broadbent tune, bluesily ornamented, conveys When You’re Gone From Me’s expression of hope in adversity through an autumnal sense of longing (russet shades of Michel Legrand), with poignant, shadowy Night After Night sharing that search for positivity; and in If I Think Of You, Georgia Mancio’s heartfelt phrases (“Every road is clear and true, if I think of you”) perfectly adorn its touchingly warm piano melodies and harmonies. Time after time, these are songs whose joint mastery suggests they have already become established in a much-loved stage show or movie musical, an impression heard again within the graceful, reassuring glow of If My Heart Should Love Again. To close, Quiet Is The Star’s twinkling lap displays a supremely exquisite and quietly affecting marriage of words and music: “I see the sky, I watch the birds go by. They seem to tell us: we too can find which way to follow, which ties to bind” – encouragement indeed that, amidst life’s tribulations, all will be well.
The particular character, intonation and accuracy of Georgia Mancio’s voice makes it one of the most compelling I’ve known, infusing and shaping every phrase with honesty and emotion; and her artistic alliance with Alan Broadbent grows ever stronger. Look into this album’s glinting treasures. Reflected there, especially in these days, is beauty to hold dear.