Down Beat (p.66) - "With an intoxicating, forceful coo, Winstone inhabits everything on this album, expecially the tunes with her lyrics and music."
Norma Winstone.
Personnel: Klaus Gesing (bass clarinet, soprano saxophone); Glauco Venier (piano).
British jazz vocalist Norma Winstone's DISTANCES mixes chamber music and classic vocal jazz with snatches of calypso, folk, and other genres. Yet the album doesn't bully its listener with willful eclecticism. Instead, Winstone's accompanists--pianist Glauco Venier and reedist Klaus Gesing--create a spare sonic landscape that paints shades of color around Winstone's evocative singing. The mood is quiet, reflective, and seductive, yet one is always aware of the skill behind the taut, telepathic sound-painting created by Winstone and her guests. A truly beautiful effort (one that belongs firmly in the legacy of ECM, the label that released it), DISTANCES should please chamber-jazz fans and vocal-jazz lovers alike.