alanwx – Page 2 – Judy Wexler

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all about jazz – back to the garden is quite a recording

Back to the Garden is quite a recording. Judy Wexler—petite in stature, but tremendously talented and agile in artistry–delivers her finest performance and certainly most ambitious album to date. Wexler’s awesome vocal talent, dexterity, and expressive flair lavishly wash across the session.

– All About Jazz

marc myers

Back to the Garden breathes fresh life into these songs and gives them a jazz feel with the elegance and sensitivity they deserve… Much should be said about Judy’s sparkling vocals and the shrewd arrangements. Passionate and reverential, Judy never tries to drag these sacred period songs into another space nor does she approach the material with the assumption they need a makeover. Instead, she sings as if she’s of the music and the era, and she takes chances in the right places with a voice that is sufficiently agile and powerful to meet the songs’ challenges on their own terms.

– Marc Myers, JazzWax

Judy Wexler has carved out a jewel-like niche as a gracefully swinging singer who brings penetrating insight to American Songbook-adjacent material often overlooked by her colleagues…Wexler sounds utterly relaxed while delivering some intricately constructed material. While clearly inspired by less-is-more vocalists like Shirley Horn and Irene Kral, she doesn’t sound anything like either of them. With space for countless joys and woes, Wexler’s heart (and book) can continue to contain multitudes.

~Andrew Gilbert, JazzTimes Magazine

Indie jazz sensation, versatile and sensual vocalist Judy Wexler weaves magic, charm and emotionally resonant grace through an array of exquisitely arranged contemporary songs she dubs “New Jazz Standards.”

–Jonathan Widran, Music Connection Magazine

An able and always engaging demonstration of contemporary jazz singing at its best.”

–Bruce Crowther, The Jazz Journal

An album that deserves its popularity… Wexler has the perfect voice for the material — rarely heard songs from recent years but worthy of a place in the Great American Song Book Vol. 2

-Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here

Her voice is lovely and pure, but there’s something tactile going on with the way she burrows deep to discover what emotions are really being considered in the lyrics. That alone elevates her from a mere singer with a beautiful voice to someone who really wants to create the template for everyone else who comes afterward and sings these classics of the future, classics that were first–and hopefully–made famous by her.

–Marc Phillips, The Part-Time Audiophile

Vivacious vocalist Judy Wexler shines a spotlight on outstanding contemporary songwriters in this luminous new jazz collection. Some of Southern California’s top musicians play on this marvelous album, but it’s Wexler’s vibrant vocals, her heartfelt interpretations of these great songs, that make this record so exceptional. She exhibits a rare combination of intelligence, sensitivity and technique.”

–Pop Culture Classics

The album is fantastic! It’s a connoisseur’s selection of modern songs, sung feelingly, with first-rate arrangements and wonderful musicianship throughout.”

– Allen Morrison, contributor to DownBeat and JazzTimes

You’re crowding my heart…with lovely, strong, breath-tightening, intoxicating emotions as I listen to the disc… boy, is this good. And needed: you’ve done an extra service by putting together such a rich repertoire of modern music that will be brand-new to so many folks. So thanks for that as well.

– Neil Tesser, Grammy Award & Recipient of Jazz Journalists Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Jazz Journalism