After having been hadened, jonesed and kralled, there’s not all-too much left of jazz but a stiff with lots of funeral makeup. But actually, a few artists are still alive, though they’re hard to find: Meet Susie Arioli from Montréal, Quebec, who already celebrated the Great American Songbook with her Pennies From Heaven debut in 2002. Jazz reviews tell the usual nonsense of mellow moods and emotive atmospheres; truth is that Miss Susie has a highly seductive timbre, and with collaborator Jordan Officer one of the sharpest swing guitarists and arrangers around. Her new album All the Way features a gorgeous French-language version of the all-time classic What a Difference a Day Makes. Let’s make it short: Few did it better.
Susie Arioli – Un Jour de Différence
Bonus: Tchavolo Schmitt’s stunning manouche version of Différence, originally written by Mexican songstress María Méndez Grever in 1934.
Tchavolo Schmitt – Un Jour de Différence