Jazzwise

★★★★

This consummate, many-angled exploration of song brings together 12 fascinating duo performances with some of the finest players on the UK scene, recorded over the past three years of Georgia Mancio’s much lauded ReVoice! Festival. Mancio’s 24 carat gift for rooting out little known gems is illustrated by Giorgio Gaber’s memorable 1960s pop song ‘Le Strade Di Notte’, with accordionist Maurizio Minardi.

We’re also treated to the first fruits  of a new writing collaboration with pianist Tom Cawley, the gorgeous waltz ‘Bendita’. From the trenchantly individual reworking of ‘Fragile’ with bassist Andrew Cleyndert, to the perfectly crafted beauty of ‘Willow Weep For Me’ with pianist Jason Rebello, Mancio seeks out the specifics in each song, drawing you into its narrative while simultaneously unveiling the emotional nuances within.

Other highlights include the impressively fluid phrasing of ‘Just Friends’ with pianist Robert Mitchell, the newly penned vocalise to ‘Sugar’ with bassist Laurence Cottle, the eloquently sorrowing ‘I Do it For Your love’ with pianist Nikki Iles, and the freewheeling whistle solo in ‘The Things We Did Last Summer’ with guitarist Colin Oxley.

An ineffable sense of connection between singer and accompanist reaches the ne plus ultra in ‘Going Back’ and ‘When I Live My Dream’, featuring the harmonious pianism of fellow vocalists Liane Carroll and Ian Shaw respectively.