Heather Masse, part of the Canadian folk duo Wailin' Jennys, teams up with jazz pianist and educator Dick Hyman for a romantic set of standards. Masse and Hyman initially met during an appearance on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 2010, performing "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good," which is included on this set. In a continuation comparable to that first performance together, Lock My Heart is just Masse's voice and Hyman's piano. Over the course of his 60-year career, Hyman has mastered the great American songbook, making him a seamless accompanist to the young vocalist. Masse gained familiarity with these tunes at an early age from her mother, who was a pianist, but she is not a traditional jazz singer, which makes her interpretations of these classics all the more interesting. The majority of tunes on Lock My Heart are standards written by the likes of Rodgers & Hart, George & Ira Gershwin, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, and Kurt Weill, and to her credit, Masse penned two tracks that fit in neatly with the rest of the program: "If I Called You" and "Morning Drinker." Audiophiles should note that this release is available as a Hybrid Super Audio CD.
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