Standards Old And New

MIMI FOX: Standards Old & New
Origin, 2013

SOLO GUITAR – A fine Bay Area guitarist who flies under the radar, Mimi Fox here gives us calm renditions of standards from the worlds of jazz, pop, and folk. She has a ringing, jangly tone and an approach that often seems to combine two contrasting angles. Sometimes that makes the tunes sound chunky, but more often these feel like meditations or soliloquies. Nice stuff for quiet moments.

Fo’s Picks: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9

1. 4:04 – folksong: optimistic and with a bit of swing, speeds up in middle
2. 4:23 – Chick Corea tune with a jamming, conversational feel
3. 7:41 – gentle and romantic, a nice mix of tenderness and technique
4. 5:04 – bright, rather jaunty sound, swings up high
5. 4:19 – pop tune gets a relaxed, folksy interpretation like a daydream
6. 3:53 – Beatles tune is gentle and sad, almost a lullaby
7. 6:35 – introspective ballad with lots of sharp contrast and a walking middle
8. 6:19 – ballad medley is rich and sweet-toned, very nice indeed
9. 4:41 – Wes Montgomery’s classic with elastic time and gentle lyricism
10. 3:21 – Bob Dylan anthem, slow and looking inward

[ Fo ] - 16 February 2013