Danish jazz singer and guitarist, Mette Juul, is a new name to Kind of Jazz, but not new to jazz. Change is her fourth album, and is the past she has worked with some of the Danish greats, including Alex Riel and Jesper Lundgard, whilst Moon On My Shoulder (2012), featured Blue Note trumpet player Ambrose Akinmusir.
Her new album also features a strong line-up, including bass player Lars Danielsson, who will be very familiar to KoJ readers, guitarist Ulf Wakenius, Heine Hansen on keyboards, and fellow guitarists Gilad Hekselman and Per Møllehøj.
The album was recorded at Juul’s home in Denmark, but also in New York and Sweden, and perhaps this helps to give the album a more international feel than its predecessors. “I have been inspired by music from Brazil and have once again fallen in love with songs from the US,” Juul admits.
The album opens with the intimate Beautiful Love. Juul’s initial wordless vocal is haunting, a reminded me instantly of Chet Baker’s trumpet playing – and with the inclusion of Just Friends, a Chet favourite, on this album, his influence can clearly be felt. There’s a wonderful control to her singing, which is matched so well with the elegant playing of Wakenius.
At Home is one of Juul’s own compositions. It’s based on one of her earlier composiitions, There Is A Song, and the very personal lyrics add to the feeling of intimacy created by the opener. There is some lovely cello by Lars Danielsson on this track, and a scat chorus by Juul, which is lovely.
Get Out Of Town, a Cole Porter tune, reminded be of the Canadian jazz singer, Holly Cole. There’s more a late night feel to this tune, which features some funky playing by piano player Heine Hansen. It also shows the versatility and range of Juul’s singing.
It Might Be Time To Say Goodbye, as the title suggests, is a lovely ballad, composed by the singer, who is clearly a fine songwriter in her own right. Lars Danielsson contributes some subtle percussion here, and there’s a piano solo by Hansen. But it’s the singing and elegant lyricism of Juul that steal’s the show here.
Double Rainbow and Dindi, two tunes associated with Jobim, show the growing influence of Brazilian music on Juul’s singing and playing. Her clear, intimate intonation is well-suited to these songs, and Wakenius provides strong support, as always.
Just Friends is one of my favourites on the album. As mentioned earlier, I can hear the Chet Baker influence here, but Juul puts on own stamp on the song, with a delicious vocal. There’s also a lovely guitar solo, presumably by Wakenius, and some fine playing by Danielsson.
Listen to Just Friends here:
I’m Moving On was written by Kirk Nurock, and features Hansen on celeste, which lend the song a haunting feel, whilst Juul’s vocal is again superb.
Your Song was co-composed by Hansen and Juul, on which the singer questions the meaning of perfect love, whilst Northern Woods came out of a song originally written by bass player (and collaborator) Thomas Fonnesbæk.
The Peacocks (A Timeless Place) was originally written by Jimmy Rowles, with lyrics later added by Norma Winstone, and is the final cover here, and again demonstrates Juul’s breathtaking voice to good effect; it’s a tough song to sing, and she makes it sound effortless here.
Change shows Juul growing as a singer and an artist, and will hopefully see her gaining further recognition in Europe and beyond.
