Vanessa Rubin at the time of her Novus debut had been a high-school English teacher for seven years. This CD was a good start for her singing career although the results are a little mixed.
Rubin displays an attractive voice (sounding great when holding long notes) but at this point in time ballads were not her strong point (on "When We Were One" she recalls
Barbra Streisand). In addition, producer
Onaje Allan Gumbs cannot resist gumming up the works in a few places with phony strings from his keyboards; he funks up what may be the initial vocal version of
Mal Waldron's classic "Soul Eyes" along with a slower-than-usual "Giant Steps." On the plus side,
Rubin's workout on a flagwaving "I've Got the World on a String" is enjoyable, the backup crew (which includes pianist
Kirk Lightsey, trumpeter
Eddie Allen and saxophonist
Roger Byam) get occasional solos and the singer does a fine tribute to
Sarah Vaughan on "Tenderly." This was a worthwhile debut but
Vanessa Rubin's best work would be in the future. ~ Scott Yanow