Read the review of Trudy's album The House.

So quiet has Kerr been about this release there has been little or no publicity, and only those in the know have been fortunate enough to grab a copy. Hopefully things are about to change as it would be a shame for this fine album to go unnoticed.

Trudy Kerr has long enjoyed a reputation as one of Australia's finest imports, with a sensitivity and a warm tone her singing of standards is sublime, but it is all too easy to forget that she is also a superb all round musician and lyricist having penned words to instrumental solos as well as supplying lyrics in writing partnerships with husband, Geoff Gascoyne and pianist Andrea Vicari.

Tentatively released in 2016, The House, is somewhat of a departure for Kerr, and the result of longstanding collaboration between the singer and Andrea Vicari, and with contributions from bassist Gascoyne and Martin Hathaway on saxophone, clarinet and flute the music produced is very contemporary with a chamber like quality. This sytlistic change suite her well, and I would go as far as to say that this is her most personal statement to date.

The choice of songs is second to none as are the arrangements. Bill Evans' Waltz For Debby is a pure joy with the added bonus of Trudy's vocalese on Cannonball Adderley's solo, and a superb reading of Infant Eyes by Wayne Shorter. The wordless vocalising accompanied by Hathaway's clarinet is breathtaking, as is the overall rendition of Chick Corea's Crystal Silence, a quartet performance of rare beauty.

If this were not enough, there are four original compositions written by Kerr and Vicari that have a beauty and fragility of their own. Hold Back The Tears and Counting Sheep are simply gorgeous, but the breakthrough song is The House. Played as a duet this is a perfect partnership of voice and piano. Both Kerr and Vicari demonstrating just how a duo can work together with total empathy with each other, the music and the lyric.

This is a quiet album that is worth shouting about, and hopefully there will be more to come from the Kerr/Vicari writing partnership.

Nick Lea