Tracks

1. Alone Together

2. Segment

3. Ask Me Now

4. Jazz Habit

5. Gentle Piece

6. I'll Take Les

7. Blame it on my Youth

8. Simone

9. Askew in the Cradle

10. Peace

DownBeat, * * * * Four stars, Robert Doerschuk
“…Borla slips into (her solos) almost unobtrusively, like a diver arcing into a pool and leaving barely a ripple…She often presents herself as a member of the band, waiting her turn to blow through a chorus of Charlie Parker’s “Segment” and Jeff Beal’s “Jazz Habit,” both of which she executes artfully and with a refreshing sense of not being in a hurry to swing…One might be fooled into thinking of From Every Angle as a group rather than as a solo project. 4 stars!”

Jazz Improv, Curtis Davenport
“Ms. Borla’s scatting ability…is nothing short of amazing. The wordless syllables trip off of her tongue with a lightness and a facility that I have not heard since Ella…If you have wondered whatever happened to great jazz singing, wonder no more. It is right here in the form of Janice Borla…One of the best jazz releases of the year.”

From Every Angle continues in the direction Janice began on her prior albums, using her voice as a true jazz instrument to explore an instrumental repertoire with more adventurous melodies and less formulaic harmonic progressions. The title refers in part to her fondness for angular melodies. The material ranges from the bop lines of Bird’s “Segment” and Monk’s “Ask Me Now,” to Frank Foster’s sinewy “Simone,” Kenny Wheeler’s “Gentle Piece,” Jeff Beal’s “Jazz Habit,” and her own “Askew In the Cradle.” “I’ve been singing melodies like these for years, but the shift here is that I realized that I LOVE singing tunes without lyrics, and decided to follow that impulse here.” Six of the 10 tracks are sung as wordless vocals.

Guitarist John Mclean, co-producer on the album, created arrangements that cast Janice as an equal member of the ensemble rather than as a solo voice with accompaniment., embedding her voice more deeply into the music than is usual for a singer. Whether interacting with John or Art Davis’ trumpet in unison, counterpoint and improvised duets, there’s plenty of space left for blowing. Pianist Dan Haerle, bassist Bob Bowman, and drummer Jack Mouse have played as a trio for years and are all highly conversational players, making the album a truly interactive, collaborative affair.

Art Davis – trumpet/flugelhorn
John McLean – guitars
Dan Haerle - piano
Bob Bowman – bass
Jack Mouse – drums

Blujazz (2006)

FROM EVERY ANGLE