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Karen Blixt
Mad Hope
Hi-Fli Records
The follow-up to her 2006 debut Spin This, Karen Blixt's Mad Hope affirms that this San Francisco jazz singer is one of the most vibrant vocalists around. An innovative interpreter (she turns Charlie Parker's "Billie's Bounce" into a sweet scatting workout) as well as a great songwriter in her own right ("Desire Is Your Name" is just lovely), besides her spot-on delivery, Blixt's greatest strength is her penchant for experimentation. Toying around with meter as well as musical milieus (there are touches of everything from Latin to funk here), Blixt is a bold performer who doesn't shy away from invention. So this is a jazz album, yes, but it's a jazz album that's filtered through an endless array of musical styles. "Antigua" is a percussive beauty that's powered by elegant handclaps; "Shadow And Light" is a smoky, aching ballad and her sprightly take on Paul Desmond's eternal classic "Five & Five (Take Ten)" is just marvelous. Later, the sly "Faith Baby Faith" simmers with nimble soul and the closer "You Are There" brings to mind Babs herself. No sophomore slump in sight among these tracks. Blixt is the real deal.
--Alex Green
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