Music Review: Danielle Wertz and Tal Cohen – ‘Intertwined’

Blues singer Danielle Wertz and pianist Tal Cohen interpret a selection of jazz standards that places the vocals as a collaborative instrumental texture.  The duo’s recording, Intertwined, moves with the fluidity of a peaceful stream, producing tranquil tones and milky textures that calm the aural senses.

The bluesy luster of Wertz’s vocals in “Beautiful Love” blends into the balladry fibers of Jamie Oehlers’s saxophone and Cohen’s keys, echoing a smoothness that resembles Corinne Bailey Rae. The folksy tint of Wertz’s improvised scat through the title track allows her to expand her wings and show a range that crosses over into the folk-pop realm. The solemn tone of the vocals and keys traversing softly across “But Not for Me” produces an ambient jazz vibe that moves into improvised layers of vocals and keys through “Chopin Meets Abach.”

The smooth swing swells of the keys coasting along “I Wish You Love” cushion Wertz’s vocals as she vows, “I wish you shelter from the storm / A cozy fire to keep you warm / But most of all when the snowflakes fall / I wish you love.” The sparse ruminations of the keys spread across “Manhattan in the Rain” give the melody an ungarnished ­­­glisten that continues through “Autumn Leaves” as Oehlers’s saxophone threads smooth creases along the track. The mournful tone of the arrangement has the effect of creating a serene soundscape. The rhythm section of bassist Pete Jeavons and drummer Chris Tarr is so understated that their movements blend into the languid flow of the arrangement.

Tranquilizing and smooth, the tracks combine factions of straight-ahead jazz, swing, blues, and improvised phrasing. The bluesy vocal register of Wertz, intertwined with the light tremors of Cohen’s keys, make for an ambient jazz repertoire with vestiges of folk and swing in the duo’s concoctions.

Musicians:
Danielle Wertz – vocals, Tal Cohen – piano, Jamie Oehlers – tenor saxophone, Chris Tarr – drums,  and Pete Jeavons – bass

Tracklisting:
“Beautiful Love,” “Intertwined,” “But Not for Me,” “Chopin Meets Abach,” “I Wish You Love,” “Manhattan in the Rain,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Intertwined Snippet”