The aptly named Torch (http://www.sweethoneytree.com) embrace tired ears with lovely torch songs that are both new and old. The group steps beyond paint-by-numbers covers, investing each track with palpable passion, invigorating chemistry, and spellbinding tightness.
Of all the forms of pop music, jazz is probably the hardest to play, and certainly the most difficult to effectively create real emotions with. The problem is that so many wanna-be jazz vocalists have turned the goldest standards into slices of cheese, robbing them of the melancholic flavours they once had. However, thankfully the same cannot be said for Torch. The lush, blue-velvet vocals of Seela Misra create a mood and atmosphere of their own. She's almost lost in her own world, especially on "Just Say the Word" and "Alone Together," wherein her plaintive singing is caught in the shadows of blissful romance.
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The other musicians on this record - guitarist Chris Vestre, drummer Jon Greene, bassists Chris Maresh and Mike Porter, pianist Evan Jacobs, saxophone player David Chenu, and trumpet player Ephraim Owens - produce a classy backdrop that can be restrained when needed or light themselves on fire if the material ("Is It Enough?", Duke Ellington's "Caravan") calls for it.
To their credit, it's hard to tell the difference between the classics and their original compositions. That's the best compliment I can give.
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