Jazzwise, Best of 2014 Albums

I had the pleasure of seeing this duo at last year’s ReVoice! Festival (which Georgia curates) and the fine qualities I heard that night – the unforced lyricism, the conversational quality and sheer elegance of the music-making, the palpable sense of enjoying each others’s musical company – are all captured to masterly effect on Come Rain or Come Shine.

From the evocative power of album opener ‘Alone Together’ right through to a brilliantly sustained ‘We’ll Be Together Again’ , both singer and guitarist share the same imaginative grasp of the material. On the latter and elsewhere, notably the eloquent ‘Manha de Carnaval’, the duo becomes a trio with the welcome addition of bassist Julie Walkington. Mancio sings beautifully, negotiating the intricacies of these standards with a real joie de vivre, while Price proves a superb, unerringly creative accompanist who has the knack of slipping in adroit chord substitutions, which can take the breath away. Brilliant soloing too. with a particularly outstanding foray on ‘That Old Black Magic’.