trageser.com
Music Review

Home
Computers
Book Reviews and Reading Diary
CD Buying Guide and Music Links
Best-of lists
CD Reviews
CDs, sorted by Style
CDs, sorted by year issued
CDs, sorted by publication review ran in
CDs by San Diego bands
All CDs, sorted by band name
All CDs, sorted by album title
Interviews
Favorite quotations
Contact Me



Technique and elegance

Introducing ...
Introducing ...
By Fran Hartshorn

Self-released: 2007

Buy this CD from CD Baby
Buy it now


This review first appeared in the November 27, 2007 issue of the North County Times.

San Diego's Fran Hartshorn is a first-rate jazz singer of the old school. Her debut CD shows a vocalist of superb range, great warmth and elegant interpretative taste. She runs through a set of standards fronting a straight-ahead jazz trio that generally does an expert job of framing her bell-like voice.

At times, the trio (pianist Jaeryoung Lee, bassist Danny Weller and drummer Kevin Koch, of Fattburger) steps over Hartshorn's vocals, and at others ("Let's Fall in Love") her own improvisation wanders a bit far from the theme.

But with material like "Prelude to a Kiss," "How High the Moon," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and others of similar vintage, Hartshorn doesn't miss often. With a little inconcistency her only shortcoming on a very solid debut, local jazzheads are going to be wondering when her next disc will come out.