Hilary Gardner – On The Trail (with The Lonesome Pines)
This remarkable release from Jazz singer Hilary Gardner has garnered high critical praise online, but one word used repeatedly in the critiques is “new.” “Rediscovered” it is. “New” it is not. Either some don’t recall or they never knew of the Big Band Jazz singer Frances Octavia Smith. Back in the 1940s she brought that styling to her performing tasks at Republic Pictures when she became “Dale Evans – Queen of the West!!” I even detect a bit of the early Evans effect in Hilary Gardner’s voice, although she names Patsy Cline as a prime influence.
Make no mistake, this is a superb creation. Gardner seems to convey genuine affection for the vintage Western material she has chosen. In other words, she “sells” it all well. There is a sultry appropriateness overlaid for Club Jazz and yet some Country sensibilities appear! “Cow Cow Boogie” is a natural, of course. But other picks include “Under Fiesta Stars” (with a Latin dance rhythm and accordion), an interesting more uptempo mounting of “Song Of The Sierras” than is usually found, “Lights Of Old Santa Fe,” “Twilight On The Trail” (which inspired the name her session folks adopted for the project) and Rich Hall’s seldom covered “A Cowboy Serenade (While I’m Rollin’ My Last Cigarette).”
There is a skilled artistry demonstrated by all involved, and so we’ll very highly recommend it to you. Twelve tracks total.
BUY WEBSITE, AMAZON … ETC
– by Rick Huff
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Hilary Gardner – On The Trail (with The Lonesome Pines)