Patricia Barber
"Companion"
(Blue Note)
If you visit the Green Mill jazz bar you will probably learn at least two things. Fact number one; the notorious Al Capone once owned (and hung out at) The Green Mill. Fact two; Patricia Barber is the best-kept secret in Chicago. An alluring vocalist who plays Hammond B-3 and piano with tasty precision, Barber has released three excellent albums before her new major-label debut, "Companion." A special live recording conducted in the friendly confines of the Green Mill, Ms. Barber and her band groove though modern standards like Sonny & Cher's "The Beat Goes On," Bill Withers' "Use Me" and that perennial blues-rock classic, "Black Magic Woman," with startling elegance. Adding a few of her own compositions and stretching performances beyond the five-minute mark, Barber establishes herself as a cunning jazz interpreter and a talented composer/bandleader. Embellishing the jazz bar's smoky ambience with her cool demeanor and silky-smooth vocal delivery, Barber proves that she has all the necessary qualities required of a modern-day jazz diva. Her seductively noirish moan/rap on "If This Isn't Jazz" is especially distinctive and quite compelling. With this record and Kurt Elling's forthcoming live effort also recorded at the Green Mill, Chicago's North Side jazz hangout will soon be known worldwide.
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.