Lucinda Fosker • I Get Along

Oh, this one’s going to be divisive—that’s what I thought after listening through I Get Along, the new offering by London-based vocalist Lucinda Fosker. A former student of the late, great Tina May and a Royal Birmingham Conservatoire graduate, Fosker has already played some of Britain’s biggest jazz dates and venues. And yet this is the first full-length release for the singer-songwriter who was named 2021 Breakthrough Composer by the Jazz South Commission. Originally scheduled for December of 2020, the release of Fosker’s debut was delayed until the middle of last year. (I’m sure we could hazard a guess as to why.) As the title hints, this record includes a few of the old standards—but not as you’ve heard them before. “Pennies from Heaven” opens the album, setting the tone with its reharmonized chord progression and scat interludes. Stuart Baker’s bass and Maxim Tomlinson’s drums trade fours, followed by a duel between Fosker and pianist Piera Onacko—establishing that although it’s the singer’s name on the cover, this should probably have been called a “Lucina Fosker Quartet” record. “On the Street Where You Live” is my personal highlight, bending and blending various forms, tempos and time signatures to create a take on the beloved standard