Jazz vocalist Deborah Latz continues her journey from the theatre to the world of music with the jazzy Lifeline, her second album and follow up to her impressive debut Toward Love (2004) with an enchanting release that will surely find its way to your heart. A quality singer with a serious voice, Latz voices fourteen time-honored standards giving some of these songs from the Great American Songbook a new lease on life. There s the familiar Sinatra staple Witchcraft, Irving Berlin s How Deep Is the Ocean and Rodgers and Hammerstein s My Favorite Things anchoring the repertoire. Latz records here with her core trio of pianist Daniela Schachter, bassist Bob Bowen and Elisabeth Keledjian on the drums. Also included on several tracks is tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Joel Frahm as special guest.A world traveler with a wealth of experience, Latz provides several songs voiced in French starting off with the opening Joseph Kosma composition Les Feuilles Mortes more familiarly known in English as Autumn Leaves, accompanied by Frahm s warm tenor phrasings and then there s the beautiful rendition of Charles Trenet s Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours, better known as I Wish You Love. The album s finale is especially sweet as Latz sings Edith Piaf s gorgeous Le Vie En Rose.The Lady delivers a gentle interpretation of Hoagy Carmichael s I Get Along Without You Very Well in a soft and cushy duet with pianist Schachter. Bassist Bowen introduces the swinging Witchcraft leading to impressive piano play as Latz belts out the lyrics in a fashion that The Chairman of the Board would be proud of.The familiar standard Make Someone Happy offers Latz the opportunity to showcase her vocal skills as she reaches in range and shows off her scatting talents. It s Joel Frahm who takes center stage with upper-range tenor solos on the lively Jump In.One of the high points on this album is Latz s special read of the Oscar Hammerstein classic My Favorite Things where she draws on all her vocal arsenal including the scatting giving ample notice that she is no ordinary singer. There are many other beautiful songs presented here that will add to one s listening pleasure. This is one very special recording where jazz vocalist Deborah Latz throws you a Lifeline of beautiful music. Don t hesitate, grab on to this lifeline, pull it in and make this a part of your musical collection, I guarantee you won t regret it. --Edward Blanco, eJazzNews.comDeborah Latz... is a seasoned veteran when it comes to creative expression and musical performance. Latz has an extensive history in dramatic and musical theatre, including such projects as her self-produced Travels With Ma Own Self, a one woman musical which she wrote and performed. Her first foray into jazz vocals came in the form of Toward Love, her debut recording from 2004. The CD was as well received as I m sure her sophomore effort, Lifeline, will be. There is an undeniably unique quality to Latz approach to jazz standards, which can no doubt be traced back to her work in other musical styles. She brings a multitude of influences and sensibilities to bear on this recording, successfully creating a wide array of moods and textures.Lifeline opens with the first of three tunes which Latz sings in French. Her rendition of Les Feuilles Mortes ( Autumn Leaves ) features special guest Joel Frahm on tenor. Frahm and Latz begin the ballad rendition in duet, the strength of the tenor gently contrasted with delicate vocals. Frahm takes center stage with an improvisation before deferring back to Latz for a return of the vocal melody. I Get Along Without You Very Well is handled entirely as a vocal/piano duet. Latz displays a wide range and depth on this tune. One of the most captivating tunes on the disc is Witchcraft . Taken at a medium clip, this swing tune features a bass intro that captures your ear from the first few seconds. Tea for Two/Day in Day Out is quite a unique arrangement, with no solos included on the track. Rather, Latz creates interest by blending the tunes and taking the intensity up as the medium swing feel launches into double time during the second half of the second tune. Latz has a unique take on scat soloing and displays her chops on Make Someone Happy, which also features a fine bass solo by Bob Bowen. Jump In is another original composition, set in to a medium swing groove, and underscored by a heavy blues influence. This tune is also the second one providing a spotlight on tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. Bill Evan s Waltz for Debbie begins as a vocal/piano duet before the rest of the trio joins. The vocal is exceptionally strong and carries the tune throughout. My Favorite Things is handled as a gentle Latin tune. It features more scat soloing and another bass solo. Latz returns to return to French again as she sings I Wish You Love. Bowen does some particularly creative work with the bow during the vocal/bass duet sections. Don t Explain is an obvious homage to Billie Holiday. Latz delivers the emotionally-charged vocal delicately. Frahm again joins on tenor, lending the perfect final touch to this moody ballad. The Sweetest Sounds is an energetic ballad. Beginning as a vocal/piano duet, the tune gradually builds in intensity as the feel lifts into a slow tempo with a swing groove. Pianist Daniela Schachter takes a particularly inspired solo on I Didn t Know What Time it Was , which is handled as an up-tempo bossa-esque number. The album closes with How Deep is the Ocean  and La Vie En Rose , a vocal/piano duet.One of the things that keeps jazz so alive and vital is its ability to encompass vastly different musical points of view and a multitude of approaches. If the performer s mindset is that of a creative musician willing to put his or herself out there completely out there with nowhere to hide then nothing is too unorthodox, no approach too different . When I think of jazz vocalists, I tend not to think of Broadway musicals. Yet... Deborah Latz clearly shows that she is as comfortable singing jazz standards as show tunes. Not an easy feat, but one which Latz nevertheless seems to pull off easily. --Dave Miele, JazzImprov.comSinger and music arranger Deborah Latz knows just how to create a very intimate mood for her audience. Her latest release Lifeline purveys a deeper layer to the torchlight glow, which permeates from her vocals with a pinch of zesty cocktail-jazz reminiscent of Rosie Carlino and smooth sleek purrs relatable to Stevie Holland. Lifeline is the follow up to Latz s 2004 debut record Toward Love, and recalls a time when jazz music connected with audiences on an intimate level. Her songs display a keen level of sensitivity and fan the flames of tranquility with gently brushed strokes and reclining harmonies. Latz s songs produce a soothing setting relatable to the singers of the 50s like Lena Horn and Dinah Washington. Latz sings a few tracks in French like Les Feuilles Mortes, Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours, and La Vie En Rose with a vocal threading that has the high-class stylizing of Edith Piaf.Latz tells about the song selection for Lifeline in the liner notes that When I chose these songs, I didn t know this album was about my mother, but it s clear to me now. The soothing way which Frahm s saxophone softly touches Latz s vocals in Les Feuilles Mortes is loving and the light Latin-tinged percussive beats are danceable. The warm timbres of Schachter s piano keys in I Get Along Without You Very Well cradle Latz s vocals beautifully, and Latz s interpretation of the jazz standards Witchcraft and Tea For Two bring out the perky side of her vocals slipping and sliding with such natural control. The creamy fluidity of Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours and Waltz For Debby is alluring as Latz s vocal purrs shroud the tunes in satiny textures. The rhythmic swagger of Jump In and Make Someone Happy have a swing-jazz pounce and a showtunes vibe with sprinkles of light peppy jolts that entice the listener to jump on board. Her rendition of My Favorite Things has a cheerful spree that is sure to be memorable, even though it is off the beaten path that most people may recall when Julie Andrews sang this song in the movie The Sound Of Music. Latz makes this song truly her own.Sometimes Latz makes the mood feel seductive like in Don t Explain and The Sweetest Sounds with catacombs of low-lit illumination flickering softly through the movements. And then there are those that have an upbeat saunter in the piano keys like for I Didn t Know What Time It Was and How Deep Is The Ocean as Latz s vocals move with a joyful tapping. Deborah Latz concludes Lifeline with the soft reflective piece La Vie En Rose as she sings to the audience and the piano keys support her elegantly contoured vocals lovingly. This is a song that found its notoriety by being Edith Piaf s masterpiece. Deborah Latz s rendition certainly reawakens this song s vitality.For Deborah Latz, it s not in the songs that she selected for Lifeline that make it special, but in the way she touches the words and in the way that the music cradles her voice. Produced by Latz and Don Flagg, Lifeline is destined to be one of those eternal gemstones in jazz music s archives that people turn to when they fancy interpretations of standards that keep them elevated in a favorable light. --Susan Frances, Jazzreview.com