Search - Laura Fygi :: Live at Ronnie Scott's

Love at First Sight ~ Laura Fygi

MISS CHILLY HUNG | Kennedy Town Praya, Hong Kong | 11/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the second live album of Laura since her first one 'Live' at Carre Theatre in Amsterdam back in 1998. This album of her concert at Ronnie Scott's recorded in March last year is the definitive "live" recording of this remarkable Godness in Jazz. It was recorded on the last night of the concert and it captured Laura at her best in live performance without any of the flaws. Widely regarded as the world's finest Jazz vocalist today, Laura appeared in this recording in which she perfectly makes for excellent listening. It goes without saying the highly standard sound quality, all the new interpretations make this truly inspirational performance very attractive. Easily the most impressive tracks on here are 'That old feeling', 'All of me', 'Don't it make my brown eyes blue', 'I'll wait for you', 'Just of those things' and some previously unreleased tracks like 'Orange coloured sky', 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' and 'The nearness of you'. No matter what Laura sings be it Portuguese in 'Corcovado', French in 'For me, formidable' and 'Les Feuilles Mortes' or Spanish in 'La mentira' (bonus track in Asian edition and SACD), Laura's sultry voice will definitely makes you stand still and listen. The power, passion and clarity she has is such a rarity and uniqueness that it makes your very soul sing along. There isn't one track on here that is weaker than the next, and the incredible thing is the variation of the songs that Laura glides seamlessly from flawless English to French, Spanish and Portuguese.Thoughtful interepretations of the American song book has lost absolutely none of its style or genre and Laura reworks some of her most famous tracks in a new slant to provide an utterly brilliant new fantastic jazzy interpretation and weaves tightly with the spiritually of the standards to give those masterpieces a whole new spin. For the Asian edition and SACD of this album contain three bonus tracks, 'I love you for sentimental reason', 'What are you doing the rest of your life' and 'La mentira'. All in one word, wonderful. This is a distinctly smoky late night jazz live album of an amazing beautiful lady. No matter how many times you listen to it, this is no doubt a superb recording. You will not only like it but also love it at first sight.Looking forward to the release of Laura's DVD at 'North Sea Jazz Festival' recorded in July this year. Guarantee another marvelous live recordings of Laura for all we know she is at her best in her live performance. As a loyal fan of Laura, I am very proud and impressed by her great efforts and enthusiasm for her career."

This is my love, very , very, veritable....

Mediaflow | Hoboken, NJ, USA | 10/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Five stars" is mild compliment to this fabulous CD. The selection of songs, bands, and arrangements are all first rated. Our spotlight singer Laura Fygi is nothing short of phenomenom. Buying this album is a must for Jazz lovers.About half of the songs in this album can be found on other excellent studio albums of Laura"s. Good news is that Ms. Fygi is fully aware that she is singing live this time. Some tricks to Jazz-up the audience are necessary. Most songs in this album are significantly faster and more dynamic than their studio counter parts. Rather than letting listeners totally relaxed in living room couches, Ms. Fygi has balanced the spirit of the original song with the expectation of Ronnie Scott audience for steams and spicies. Good example is "Concorvado" (Quite Nights) by A.C. Jobim. It was very "quiet" in the album "Lady Wants to Know", while "quietness" mixed with animation in this live performance. Ms. Fygi clearly knows where she is heading and how far she will go. This makes her a good singer before she even opens her show.Many other surprised are offered in this complete package. I am delighted to find ¡¥Diamonds are the girl"s best friend¡¦ in the repotoire. Comparing to Marylyn Monroe girlish expectation of receiving diamonds in the future, Ms. Fygi sang as if she already have the jewelry and was telling her stories from the past. Both versions are great yet different.Ms. Fygi"s long time music partner and fellow Virgo Hans Vroomans is excellent as usual, providing great support in piano and arrangement, with appropriate solo moments. Most other musicians have performed their duties well, except the Saxphonist Jan Menu was occasionally out of league (or out of mind), maybe due to too much alcohol inhalation. The sound quality is satisfactory, though I wish the percussion could be toned down a bit so it would not overshadow others.Listening to Laura Fygi changing moods and lanuages throughout a night is an awsome experience, even in my humble apartment. I cannot wait to sit in a crowd and cheer for her, if she ever comes to my town. Before that, I will keep buying her CDs."