In this day of auto tune and infectious-yet-shallow pop hooks, it is a refreshing change to listen to a voice that simply excels at singing.  Audrey Silver is one of those voices, and it is the sultry tones of her voice that makes her latest album, Dream Awhile, a well-crafted musical offering.

The greatest strength of this album is in the vocal production.  Silver’s pacing, interesting use of dynamics, and her ability to stir emotion takes the listener on a musical journey through the golden age of jazz and big band swing.

Any rendering of timeless jazz standards such as those sung by Silver on Dream Awhile run the risk of being an unoriginal reproduction of a multitude of recordings that have already been done.  Silver, however, has found a unique way to present these classics through her rhythmic improvisation and distinctive musical timing while adding to the mix unexpected arrangements, most of which work well highlighting Silver and the band.

Silver is best when she’s swinging songs like, “I Will Wait For You”, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “Exactly Like You”.  These are three of the strongest songs on the album demonstrating a fun playfulness and an intense musical joy.  Artists can be defined on their ability to transfer the live experience to a recorded project, and when Silver begins to scat, which is a skill not easily mastered, the strength of her vocal technique and the loveliness of her voice portray a gifted artist whom one would want to see on stage.

Even so, there are tracks that fall short of the high standard Silver has set for herself.  “Falling In Love With Love” suffers from an uneven arrangement, the introduction is much to slow and the bass distracts from Silver’s lead vocals.  When the tempo increases to a full groove and the entire band begins to play, Silver once again shines and gives her listeners the power-packed excitement that jazz can be.  Silver’s interpretation of “Too Marvelous For Words” lacks the emotional depth and is flat when compared to the passion exhibited on other tracks such as “That’s All” and “Day Dream”.

“That’s All” is the true gem of this album.  Heartfelt and vulnerable, Silver offers an emotional rendition that is gentle and easy.  The arrangement is tight and musically subdued so that the listener can focus on Silver’s simple and straight forward rendition.  She sings with such honesty and clarity that the song easily becomes a favorite.

Closing out the album with “I Could Write A Book”, Silver once again showcases her stunning vocals.  The simple piano accompaniment and uncomplicated arrangement combined with Silver’s high vocal energy closes the project on a high note.  The barebones instrumentation on this track affirms once again that Audrey Silver is the star of this project.

Dream Awhile makes a definite statement: Audrey Silver is a versatile song stylist and Dream Awhile is a notable effort.

Review by Naima Johnston

Naima Johnston, Reviews Audrey Silver, Dream Awhile

Audrey Silver does not fail to delight with Dream Awhile. An already established jazz vocalist in the New York club scene, Silver continues to hone her craft with a more mature, finely polished follow-up to last year’s fantastic Here In My Arms. Once again thronged by an outstanding ensemble of musicians, Silver’s talents are exquisitely showcased as she excels in her vocal delivery, song selections, arrangements and production.

Silver has a fabulous knack for engaging the listener with her singing, as is evident in her arrangement of the Hart & Rodgers tune “Falling in Love with Love.”  Though the song opens starkly with the bass and vocals, Silver maintains such confident control of the melody that one can almost see her head bobbing and hips swaying as the tempo hastens with the entrance of the piano and drums.  Her remarkable ability to sing independently of the other instruments is phenomenal and sounds completely natural as she scats around the piano.  The larger degree of scatting on Dream Awhile may evoke a contemporary comparison to a more tender and engaging Jane Monheit.

Evidently Silver is thoroughly enjoying herself on this album and one can almost “hear” her smiling as she sings, yet there is a retained air of sophistication.  There are no sharp edges in Silver’s music, but rather a warm easiness that invites the listener in and stay awhile.

The principle arranger for Dream Awhile is pianist Joe Barbato, who gives the keys a bell-like tone as he expertly adds inflections throughout the album, never robbing Silver of the limelight but rather gently elevating her.  The two open the well-known ballad “That’s All” with Silver beautifully singing the soaring melody as Barbato does little to accompany her, but rather adds excellent texture with his ivory nuances.  Silver skillfully carries through to the end of her phrases and seamlessly changes vowel sounds.  After bassist Joe Fitzgerald delivers the bridge solo Silver enters again with conviction through to the coda as she slightly strays from the melody but finishes with flourish with her fantastic fellow musicians.

Barbato’s arrangement of “Too Marvelous for Words” is not as grand.  It is still extremely well-executed but the juxtaposition of the piano and vocals in closely related keys in a minor mode sounds strange with the uplifting lyrics, “You’re too marvelous for words like glorious and glamorous and amorous.”  Regardless, all of the standards on Dream Awhile are given new life with new interpretations, which is one of the many awesome attributes Silver and her ensemble bring to the jazz realm.  Silver shares arranging credits on “Day Dream” and with the addition of guitarist Chris Bergson in a rubato tempo makes this piece a highlight of the album.  Just like in Debussy’s La Mer, there is a rich overlaying of the instruments (including voice) as they gently swirl around each other playing unique musical thoughts, yet all contributing to a pleasurable aural sensation.

It is a wonderful privilege to be able to follow an artist as she travels along her musical journey.  Thankfully a musician as fine as Silver seems to know where she wants to go and continues to get better with each passing year without fail.  Dream Awhile is another gemstone and a truly remarkable effort.

Review by Kelly O’Neil

Kelly O'Neil, Reviews Audrey Silver, Dream Awhile

When it comes to jazz and singers that perform standards, most of the performers that come to mind are men. Well, move over Michael Buble. Move over Harry Connick Jr. There’s a new voice in town and it’s a lady. Audrey Silver has a voice that’s unforgettable. I think its safe to say that she’ll give the likes of Diana Krall and Jane Monheit a run for their money.

Dream Awhile is a strong sophomore effort for a singer who we can only hope is going to give us many more albums in the coming years.  Her debut album Here in My Arms appeared in 2004 and fans have been waiting for new material ever since. One thing is for sure: Dream Awhile was worth the wait.

On Dream Awhile, Audrey tackles eleven songs from the American Songbook and she does it with class. The songs she picked aren’t the same tried and true tracks but more eclectic picks that others may have overlooked.

The album opens with Irving Berlin’s “The Song Has Ended”. The scat at the end of the song gives it a memorable twist. “In The Wee Small Hours” is a heartbreaking song of unrequited love and Audrey sings it with such longing. You automatically sympathize with the woman she’s singing about.  That’s one of the things that make Audrey’s singing so special. Her voice is deep and rich, and she has a way of really emoting that makes the songs more intimate almost as though she were singing each one for you.

The songs that stand out the most are tracks like “Too Marvelous For Words” and “So Many Stars”. On the “Stars”, Silver’s vocal style sounds very much like her contemporary Krall, but where the two may have similar sounding voices at times, Silver has a style all her own. My personal favorite is the album closer, “I Could Write A Book”, a very upbeat number about falling in love with a friend. There is only one other song on Dream Awhile that’s upbeat, “Exactly Like You”. These two tracks are toe tappers, and the kind that make you want to grab someone and dance they way your mother or grandmother used to dance.

Audrey’s voice is a treasure. It doesn’t matter whether the songs she’s singing are about falling in love or out of it. Audrey could sing in the New York City phone book and it would sound beautiful. That statement may be cliché, but that doesn’t stop it from being true.

Another reason Audrey’s Dream Awhile is a stellar recording has to do with her choice of musicians. Her current band is made up of many stellar musicians: pianist Joe Barbato,

Chris Bergson on guitar, Joe Fitzgerald on bass, and drums by Anthony Pinciotti and Todd Isler.  These players, along with Silver and her voice of gold create an album that jazz fans and casual listeners won’t want to miss.

After listening to Dream Awhile several times, I find myself wondering, if Audrey is this wonderful now, what will her album’s will be like a few years down the line. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Review by Andrea Guy

Andrea Guy, Reviews Audrey Silver, Dream Awhile

Like a cool refreshing breeze wafting through an open window and delicately fluttering the curtains, Audrey Silver’s confident vocals gently caress the listener’s ear.  Here In My Arms is a delightfully smooth aural pleasure perfect to unwind to at the end of the day.

Silver surrounds herself with stellar veteran jazz musicians that maintain the same degree of excellence in keeping the tone mellow yet grooving.   No matter the tempo of the tune, whether it is “The Moon Was Yellow” bossa nova or the ballad “All Too Soon,” the rhythm section and the solo instruments unassumingly weave in and out of the texture as Silver effortlessly glides overtop.  She expertly throws her voice to add natural breath accents to the chorus of “It’s a Wonderful World” and seamlessly dances around the notes in tasteful turns and mordents.  In the midtempo toe-tapper “As Long as I Live” the listener can hear Silver smiling in her vocal execution of this cute love song. Her vocal prowess is further radiated in the fun scatting in the coda. 

Aside from her lovely midrange voice and her melodic savviness, Silver is deliberately clear on her enunciation.  Every lyric is clean and easily understood.  The downfall of this however is evident in the ballad “You’re Nearer.”  This song has a noticeable lack of percussion and thus solely relies on the vocals to push the tune forward.  Yet, due to its slow tempo, the song almost stalls and comes across as an ethereal musing.  No doubt Silver’s vocals are strong enough to carry such a tune; however, the tender sensuality of the song is lost when she sits on the held out endings to the lyrics “nearer” and “winter”.    The heavy “er” sound is a bit too harsh to match the mood.

One minor complaint though should not discourage anyone from giving Here In My Arms a listen.  Silver’s years of study and natural talent are to be commended with hopes there is lots more music to come from one of New York’s finer jazz vocalists.

Reviewed By Kelly O’Neil

Kelly O'Neil, Reviews Audrey Silver, Here In My Arms