Search - Elizabeth Geyer :: On Patrol With the Jazz Police

THE VERSATILE ELIZABETH GEYER's MARVELOUS MUSIC

RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 08/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five BIG Stars!! Australia's talented jazz singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Elizabeth Geyer creates a wonderful combination of vocal and instrumental music on her latest CD "On Patrol with the Jazz Police". Her music is fascinating and intriguing based on her soaring emotional singing, her impressionistic lyrics and the extra dimension of her blazing jazz trumpet and flugelhorn work. This is very personal music that, because of her brass expertise, sets Ms Geyer apart from her singer/songwriter contemporaries, aided also by her charming but unobtrusive accent. With a degree in jazz performance from Adelaide University, her open and muted trumpet and flugelhorn playing alone mark her as a fearless, impressive jazz instrumentalist who had also played at the Monterey Jazz Festival. And sometimes she plays piano and trumpet simultaneously. But clearly this is an artist who has to compose, play, and sing. With a voice that can go from soft to intense, she sings music that can go from reflective to a sonic whirlwind within the same song. She's backed by the impressive pianism of Bill Risby, along with bedrock rhythmic and bottom end support from Johathan Zwartz on bass and the talented Nic Cecire on drums, among others, who execute this intriguing music.



The 'best of the best' begins with "Stunned", which sets the pace for the CD with Ms Geyer singing lead vocal, backup vocals, playing solo and background trumpet over driving rhythms from the piano, bass, and drums that accelerate and become intense on the bridge as she vocally soars above it. Her expressive voice alternates between reflective and intense, giving us metaphors on love in interesting word-pictures about "running dogs and stones and scones" and a messy bed. Elizabeth sings sweetly over the jaunty beat of "Beautiful Spiders" delivering somewhat sinister lyrics, but then she unveils the surprising truth in the last two lines. Some songs have double themes going on, such as the case of "The Comedian" with its 'clown' sub-theme and "Showgirl" with its 'high school girl' sub-theme. The excellence of "Elina", the gentle "Freefall", the slashing humor of the "Middleman" lyrics and execution, and "From Here to Her" are wonderful performances that should not be missed. And there is much more to enjoy, such as the very hip "Waiting" and the vocal and trumpet heroics of "A Candle Is Sweeter Than Fire" that eventually take us into swirling jazzy crosswinds! Discovering Elizabeth Geyer is like discovering Essra Mohawk and Laura Nyro: very talented, unique, personal, and uncompromising. I recommend buying the CD, so one can read the poetic lyrics of each song. My Highest Recommendation. Five INTRIGUING Stars!!! (Audio CD: 54 minutes, 29 seconds, 11 songs with song lyrics included)."