Hailing from Citrus Heights, California, the petite yet powerful Ava Lemert blows away the cobwebs from 2009 with her zingy sax prowess and funky vocals. This is no smooth jazz set, by no stretch of the imagination. The CD definitely has it's fair share of jazzy moments, but in equal measure do we find plenty of soul and funk vibes. A set, I would imagine, that encompasses everything we know and love about our music. There is something on here for everyone who visits these pages, and if you check out the sound samples on CD Baby then I think you'll agree that this is a worthwhile purchase to kick off your soulful squandering in 2010! As far as my feelings go, I was sold within moments of hearing the intro to "You Know You Got It". The real instrumentation, funky guitar, horns and flute are superb and very much in a mid '70s vibe. I wouldn't say that Ava has the vocal prowess of, say, JC Bentley or Regina Belle, but she is very much at home on this kind of groove.The edgier "I Want To Funk It Up" reminds me of grittier moments from the latest U-Nam CD, and the vocals certainly work well on here with the strained and freaky sax touches. Fans of Boney James will find a home with the gorgeous Rhodelea, a semi vocal cut with a nice haunting melody, backing vocals and loose rhythm that allows the sax to take centre stage. Strong, and extremely worthwhile is this track. A full-blown vocal cut complete with acoustic guitar can be found with "Won't Be Your Plaything" - this gives us a Hammond organ and therefore a different feel. I much prefer the sexy, saxy "That '70s Girl" complete with wah-wah guitar. This is definitely the sort of funky jazz that I like to hear. What surprised me was a soulful interpretation of George Michael's "Nothing Looks The Same In The Dark". This is quite good actually, and I'm sure the Great Man - being a soulboy himself - would heartily approve. "You Got Something Coming To You" could be a great vehicle for someone of the stature of Joss Stone...this is a strong, rootsy soul track of real merit and is one that should do the business on radio. All in all a promising debut CD!
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
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