Kate McGarry/Keith Ganz/Gary Versace  
 
The Subject Tonight is Love 
 
CD Baby 
 
Yes, nominally Kate McGarry is the ‘star’ – she’s the one out front, the voice, but this talented trio works together to pull new flavours and subtle nuance from oft-recorded chestnuts.  
 
There are only a handful of modern jazz vocalists actually doing something – actually working, exploring, instilling their personality, able to take on the most-covered songs and create something fresh. McGarry is one of them. She’s so utterly believable – she only ever apes in a way that lets you know she’s done the listening, there’s never an approximation of anyone. It’s always herself. But you’ll spot the moments of 1990s-era Joni Mitchell on Fair Weather, the Anita O’Day-sass (and scat) on a towering recreation of Gone With The Wind and even some of Eddi Reader’s phrasing – or more the timing, I guess – on the Celtic-heritage balladry of Climb Down/Whiskey You’re The Devil. 
 
Here folk songs and jazz standards are twisted to meet, as if one fluid genre, on a subtly startling collection of love songs. It’s like a book as much as an album, replete with intro and outro motifs.  
 
The Karrin Allyson-via-Elvis Costello soft-twirl through My Funny Valentine, the so-gorgeous Secret Love where we hear piano, guitar and voice in a dance; there are so many highlights. 
 
But a big part of this, a big part of McGarry sounding as good as she does here is also in Ganz’ sublime guitar playing and in the multi-instrumental textures added by Versace (here contributing a range of pianos, keyboards, organs and accordion). This is a trio that moves as one. This is not about egos. It’s about song-serving. Every second musician will tell you they’re there for the song. And then the prove they’re not. Or at least forget to pack any memorable tunes. Not the case here. 
 
This is just deceptively simple, utterly divine music – the spell its casts, it lingers, it’s as if the music is lovingly draped across the room when you hit play. A shadow of it hovering long after the final note.  

You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron