Search - Emily Bezar :: Moon in Grenadine

Ethereal jazz-art-songs

Craig L. Gidney | Washington, DC USA | 11/23/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bezar is a classically-trained musician--both as a vocalist and a pianist. This shows in her vocal work particularly; in her singing there are long, sustained notes that recall the tones of opera singers Jessye Norman and Dawn Upshaw. Most people, however, will put her in the Kate Bush/Tori Amos category (the delicate piano ballads, and she *does* sound awfully like them). However, Bush and Amos, for all of their fantastical storytelling chops and love of the twee and mystical, are pop artists. Bezar is not. The opening track, "40 Mansions," rocks as much any Tori-with-a-full-band song. But there are dramatic dissonances in her singing that go against the grain of folk-based compositions, and her diction/phrasing on other verses is distinctly operatic. The track also highlights her jazz-influenced piano playing and love of obscure imagery: she describes the female half of a battling couple: "40 lovers had she/in a year/ Daughter of Medici..."; elsewhere, she says mournfully of the male half: "I made a bomb of your/Golden contraband/ I made a bomb/ for it looked like a battlefield to me...". But it's not until the second song, "Mosquito in the Shade", that it becomes clear that this album is *fusion*, not rock. This song is a light longuey samba, and it feels like a gem unearthed from the 1920s. It's something I could imagine Daisy and Jay dancing to, while the society ladies of the Noveau Riche make oh-so-droll comments. The lyrics, however, are written from the viewpoint of one who's jaded by romance. The specter of Zelda Fitzgerald makes a comeback in "Dream Gasoline." Against a big band backdrop, Bezar observes a rich woman's descent into madness and ennui: "A tavern in England/ A beach in Antibes.../The queen down the Nile/ With her Cairo of theives...Sometimes she mistakes these things for her home...Sane into Sadness/Goes Bland into Madness..." "Chevalier Lune" is as evanscent and classic as a Gershwin tune, her delicate piano describing her ambivalence about romance, personified by the moon: "O moon, Chevalier Lune/ Seduced and perfumed.../I only wanted to peel your circumference...". In "Opiate Cheer", she's as dewy-eyed as a Harry Connick song, contrasting images of chaos and decay with the obsessive gaze of the lover. Each of Bezar's songs have something to distinguish them, whether it's the wonderful piano-playing, the brassy blare of horns, or her gorgeous, always startling voice. It's highly reminiscient of Mitchell's "Hejira" in its use of jazz references."

Moon in grenadine...as sweet as it sounds

moongrenadine | high point, NC | 03/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"for those of us who have spent our lives looking for that sound of perfection, i don't think any of us could come any closer to perfection that what ms. bezar has offered us thus far in her three wonderful recordings. the voice of creativity abound leaping over what seems to be the impossible is rarely seen in pop culture these days and ms. bezar will surely renew your faith in good music. i truly believe some musician's sole purpose in life must be to make beautiful music which makes us think and gives us the incentive to do the things we have to do. without doubt, emily bezar will probably be compared once again to tori amos or kate bush with good reason but ms. bezar's work is completely her own style. moon in grenadine carefully and uniquely blends classical music, folk rock, jazz, as well as opera which works very well here. very few artists have i seen that can pull off such a feat and this deserves our greatest admiration/respect. 40 mansions is a splendid example of ms. bezar's lust for life in abundance and the ever great need for complete freedom. " 40 mansions, up in flames we're all here waiting for someone to beat off the blame/ 40 stables, wood and steel but where are all the horses? well, i freed them/ i know how they feel." do yourself a huge favor and purchase all three of ms.bezar's truly amazing cds. you simply cannot go wrong with emily bezar."