Individually Twisted (Coloured Vinyl)

…join NYC avant garde collaboration The Jazz Passengers for a perfectly matched ‘96 album. The Passengers’ always entertaining grooves pair with Harry and Costello’s un­mistakable vocal textures for exquisite originals and fresh takes on jazz standards, including the can’t-miss duet “Doncha Go ‘Way Mad”! Of course the vocalists get all the ink, but this is Roy Nathanson (sax) and Curtis Fowlkes’ (trombone) band including a stellar crew of jazzmen, Bill Ware (vibes), E. J. Rodriguez (drums), Brad Jones (bass), and Sam Bardfeld (violin). The featured guitarist is the unheralded icon Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, John Zorn, Tricky, Harry Shearer, Beck, etc.), what an embarrassment of riches!

“It’s Harry who’s the real star of Twisted. She has easily made the transition from pop diva to jazz stylist. As hard as it is not to immediately associate Harry with Blondie, there are times when it seems as if these are the songs she was born to sing. She radiates supper-club elegance in ‘L’il Darlin’” and breezes through ‘Olé,’ her vocals as weightless and as lustrous as chiffon. And on ‘Angel Eyes,’ she shows a newfound control that’s nothing short of remarkable. When she hits the song’s last line, she sustains the last note with an almost unbelievable strength and clarity. The horns swell up behind, their sound melting into hers. When they fade down, you realize she’s still holding out the note, unwavering and powerful: She’s got a grip on it that just won’t quit.” – Stephanie Zacharek, Salon