New Music: "Moving The Taboos", Vince Jones

The music keeps comin' this month with a new cd from another of my favourite artists - Vince Jones. Vince is Australia's leading jazz vocalist and trumpet player who I see live whenever I can and this new recording is also fantastic. Vince often reminds me of Chet Baker and his cool, mellow approach to his jazz is always melodic and remarkable, but this new cd sees him taking it to a new level - strings. I don't think I've ever heard jazz like this. He's got violins, viola and cello superbly arranged by his current pianist, Sydney based  Matt McMahon, adding a subtle lushness to his groove, without detracting from the vibe in the slightest. It never gets mushy, even when Vince sings an ode to his mother ("This Is The Woman", a track he's been performing live for the last couple of years, you know the one, where he rhymes "issue" and "tissue" in the first verse... it always reminds me of that line Lou Reed used in "Take No Prisoners"), the strings never get in the way of his bounce and tempo.

I can highly recommend this cd to lovers of jazz. Unfortunately I can't see any Melbourne gigs on Vince's gig guide, but I hope he does some soon. Hopefully the animal liberationists have forgotten him for the dog incident and won't be picketing.