A superb jazz violinist from Barcelona, Spain, Marta Sierra has a beautiful tone, impressive technique, and swings well in a style complementary with that of Stephane Grappelli and Svend Asmussen. The Fresh Sound label has made available her first two recordings.
Paris Connection which was recorded around 2020 and released in 2022, has Ms. Sierra joined by the French guitarist Maxime Bousquet (who is equally skilled as a soloist and a rhythm player), clarinetist Fredrik Carlquist (rom Sweden), and American bassist Stuart Grant. While there are plenty of fine guitar and clarinet solos, the focus is mostly on the violinist. This CD, which consists of the waltz “Indifference,” five familiar standards (including “The Anniversary Song”), and “Clair De Lune” (which Django Reinhardt recorded in 1947), is only 26 minutes long but what is here is rewarding. The stirring swing music features Sierra sounding very much at home cooking on versions of “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “Exactly Like You,” “All Of Me,” and “Rose Room.”
From 2023, C Jam Blues has Sierra sharing the spotlight with the brilliant gypsy jazz guitarist Yorgui Loeffler. In fact, the guitarist sometimes steals the show. The co-leaders are accompanied by rhythm guitarist Magnio Loeffler (Yorgui’s son) and bassist David Gousset. Their repertoire includes swing standards (many played by Django Reinhardt including his “Django’s Tiger” which is based on the main theme of “Tiger Rag”) and three later tunes: the charming waltz “Dolores,” “Black Orpheus,” and “Swing Gitan.” Yorgui Loeffler’s virtuosic Djangoish guitar is quite exciting and pushes the violinist to play with as much passion as possible although her melodic style also serves as an effective contrast. Burning versions of “It Had To Be You” and “Pennies From Heaven” are among the highpoints of this enjoyable set.
Marta Sierra • Paris Connection
Temps TR2010-GEww
www.freshsoundrecords.com
Marta Sierra & Yorgui Loeffler • C Jam Blues
Swing Alley SA047
www.freshsoundrecords.com
Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings.
Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.
