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Emma Larsson

Let It Go, Emma Larsson’s latest release on Imogena Records, is a collection of vivid, self-penned pieces. As a young Scandinavian, Larsson inevitably has a strong interest in form and aesthetics. It means that the stretch of her interests and influences is global, but her viewpoint is strongly individual. The make up of her current Quintet reflects this global spread. From New York's jazz scene is pianist Benito Gonzalez. On the Scandinavian side are Finns Joonathan Rautio playing saxophone and Jukkis Uuotila on drums, and from Sweden, Christian Spering on bass. Specific influences are hard to pinpoint, but in her effort to integrate musical ideas with explicit vocalised themes Larsson draws on traditions of American jazz more than any other. Apart from Afro Blue, all the tunes are her own and it was only in the final collation of the songs that an element of unity in their themes emerged. Separation, emotional distress and recovery are a familiar trilogy, but here they are an interesting aside to a selection of music that itself covers many bases

Ten Artists: April 2019

by C. Michael Bailey
April 2, 2019

Claudia Vorbach Is There a Time? Phoneector 2018 Claudia Vorbach follows up Come Down Easy (Phoneector, 2016) with these 14 smart original compositions infused with the swagger of a confident composer/singer. At first blush, Vorbach sounds like a relaxed Nora Jones, playfully whimsical and vocally daring. Vorbach sings with an assured Van Morrison-fashioned slur that is both rakish and sensual. “Princess With A Cross To Bear" is a dead ringer for “Moondance," swinging hard with ...

Album Review

Emma Larsson: Sing to the Sky

Read "Sing to the Sky" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
October 4, 2015

New York vocalist Emma Larsson made a splash with her 2010 sophomore effort Let It Go (Imogena). She has populated her recordings with predominantly well-envisioned original compositions, seasoning the album sequence with standards specifically chosen to meld with her unique sound. Her repertoire choice is eclectic without being eccentric. On her present Sing to the Sky, Larsson reveals her fortitude by covering “Here's to Life," a song long associated with the exquisite Shirley Horn. Larsson hears the ...

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Album Review

Emma Larsson: Let It Go

Read "Let It Go" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
April 23, 2010

Among the many sub-genres of jazz, none is more congested than that of female vocalists. So clotted is this particular marketplace that it is almost impossible to separate the signal (exceptional releases) from the noise (everything else). There are precious few ways for an artist to set herself apart from the merely good vocalists as a truly great one. Standards collections are no vehicle. Anyone and everyone can release a disc of standards. Only the very best singers can draw ...

"Larsson represents a new class of vocalists who are pushing the limits of jazz vocals to the edge of post bop conventional wisdom into a realm not otherwise traveled."

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