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from
the liner notes...
Paula
Zeitlin's interpretation of the Gordon Jenkins song "This Is
All I Ask" is, like the rest of her debut CD, an instrumental.
Yet the album's title, "Walk a Little Slower," arrives
from the song's unheard lyric, and it captures something central
to the whole of this captivating work. This violinist's music notices
the rewarding details and felicitous grace that is evident to those
who live life, at least from time to time, at a slower speed. The
rest of the Jenkins lyric has to do with reaching a state of maturity,
and that too is relevant here. This is the first album released
under Zeitlin's name, but it comes after a lifetime of music. The
tunes are involved with mood and tone: the air and feel of each
song's journey. And w hile jazz is the predominant genre, it would
be hard to simply categorize the waltzes, sambas, Celtic-tinged
aires and balladic explorations as modern jazz. Fans of Zeitlin's
1990's western/swing band, Western Omelet will find very little
country flavor here, but though sophisticated, the terrain isn't
precisely urban, either. Though wide in scope, and perhaps influenced
by adventurous Boston fiddlers such as Matt Glaser and Mimi Rabson,
this album doesn't jump from genre to genre, or create audacious
fusions. So what is it? Listening to "Walk a Little Slower,"
you get the feeling it is simply music, though the mysteries and
moods that it evokes are anything but simple. It invites you in,
soothes you, and then wakes you to the grace of life. And whether
the tune is composed by Chick Corea, A.C. Jobim or Paula Zeitlin
herself, the music of "Walk a Little Slower" takes the
time to saunter, to feel the mood and then travel on.
--
Daniel Gewertz, Boston Herald music columnist
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