Cyrille Aimée – New album “Move On : A Sondheim Adventure”
While its narrative arc is a self-contained story, Move On : A Sondheim Adventure (February 22 via Mack Avenue Records) is just the beginning of a new chapter in Cyrille Aimée’s remarkable journey.
It’s the French-born singer’s first release since disbanding the acclaimed band she’s led for the last several years, to which she bid a fond adieu on her last album, Cyrille Aimée Live. It’s also her first since moving from Brooklyn to New Orleans, the latest music-rich city that she’s been able to call home.
That move ended up being accompanied by even more uncertainty than usual for such a major relocation, as a break-up meant that she unexpectedly had to make it alone. The course of that relationship provided the through line for the songs on Move On, which traces the course of a romance from dreaming together (“Take Me To The World”) through vulnerable commitment (“Marry Me A Little”) to heartbreaking assurances (“No One Is Alone”) and finally the uncertain future (“With So Little To Be Sure Of”).
“Loving You” is distilled to pure jazz, with Aimée backed by the French trio of pianist Thomas Enhco, bassist Jérémy Bruyère, and drummer Yoann Serra. Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo, who pairs with the singer for “Marry Me A Little” and “With So Little To Be Sure Of” is a longtime collaborator, having recorded two duo albums with Aimée early in her career. Another old friend is keyboardist Assaf Gleizner, a classmate from SUNY Purchase who co-produced and co-arranged the album and appears throughout on piano and Rhodes.
Musically, Move On is the equivalent of a superior cocktail hour or world-class tapas bar ; Aimée takes the Sondheim canon and gives us a chef’s tasting menu’s worth of small jazz plates that satisfy but don’t stuff.
