SIRIL MALMEDAL HAUGE / JACOB YOUNG - Last Things
Oslo Session Recordings: OSR003
Siril Malmedal Hauge: vocal; Jacob Young: guitar
Jacob Young has been playing on the Norwegian jazz scene since the early 90s with many of the best known jazzers; most recently in the Jacob Young Group and with InterStatic. On this set he plays delicate acoustic guitar, with some stunning chord sequences and a great aptitude for suggesting the rhythmic complexities of each tune. Such is the quality of his playing, that he could have easily stolen the show but for the fact that Hauge’s richly captivating vocals demand your attention.
It is no surprise that she was nominated in the Annual Independent Music Awards, given the way that she effortlessly develops subtle shifts in phrasing that draws out the meaning of the tunes. The one track where this doesn’t quite gel is ‘Last things’ (track 5) which is sung by Young and this seems to force her singing into a lower register that she can’t seem to get out of. For the most part, the selection of tunes, including songs from Jimi Hendrix (‘Little wing’, track 3), Carmichael and Mercer (‘Skylark’, track 4), Cole Porter (‘So in love’, track 7) or Lennon and McCartney (‘I will’, track 2), show a deep appreciation of the opportunities that the chord structures offer for Young’s guitar and Hauge’s voice to work around. My favourite tune of the set is their version of James Shelton’s ‘Lilac wine’ (track 9), with the vocal intro accompanied by delay guitars that sound a little like an harmonium, with their sustained tones and the plucked notes sounding mournfully behind Hauge’s haunting ‘torch song’ version of such a familiar tune.
The set closes with a bonus track, ‘The ballad of the sad young men’ – ‘drifting through the town / drinking up the night / trying not to drown’ – covered by Roberta Flack, Rod McKeun, Rickie Lee Jones, Marc Almond (to name a few people on my record shelves) – and sung in an intimate style that is easily on a par with these in its bittersweet delivery.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Oslo Session Recordings: OSR003
Siril Malmedal Hauge: vocal; Jacob Young: guitar
Jacob Young has been playing on the Norwegian jazz scene since the early 90s with many of the best known jazzers; most recently in the Jacob Young Group and with InterStatic. On this set he plays delicate acoustic guitar, with some stunning chord sequences and a great aptitude for suggesting the rhythmic complexities of each tune. Such is the quality of his playing, that he could have easily stolen the show but for the fact that Hauge’s richly captivating vocals demand your attention.
It is no surprise that she was nominated in the Annual Independent Music Awards, given the way that she effortlessly develops subtle shifts in phrasing that draws out the meaning of the tunes. The one track where this doesn’t quite gel is ‘Last things’ (track 5) which is sung by Young and this seems to force her singing into a lower register that she can’t seem to get out of. For the most part, the selection of tunes, including songs from Jimi Hendrix (‘Little wing’, track 3), Carmichael and Mercer (‘Skylark’, track 4), Cole Porter (‘So in love’, track 7) or Lennon and McCartney (‘I will’, track 2), show a deep appreciation of the opportunities that the chord structures offer for Young’s guitar and Hauge’s voice to work around. My favourite tune of the set is their version of James Shelton’s ‘Lilac wine’ (track 9), with the vocal intro accompanied by delay guitars that sound a little like an harmonium, with their sustained tones and the plucked notes sounding mournfully behind Hauge’s haunting ‘torch song’ version of such a familiar tune.
The set closes with a bonus track, ‘The ballad of the sad young men’ – ‘drifting through the town / drinking up the night / trying not to drown’ – covered by Roberta Flack, Rod McKeun, Rickie Lee Jones, Marc Almond (to name a few people on my record shelves) – and sung in an intimate style that is easily on a par with these in its bittersweet delivery.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
