Greta Matassa - All This And Heaven Too

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Greta Matassa , “All This And Heaven Too”
Origin 82393

“Greta Matassa packs the energy, embellishment and awe of a gospel choir into her voice, wedding the secular and spiritual to invariably produce roof-raising performances.”
Jason West/ Jazz Steps

In the Pacific Northwest, where she built her career, Greta Matassa wins wide acclaim. Four times, the readers of Earshot, the Seattle jazz magazine, have voted her the best jazz vocalist in the the Northwest. Jim Wilke, the Seattle jazz maven and host of the syndicated "Jazz After Hours" radio program, praises her versatility. "She has a fearlesness in approaching material," Wilke says, "that makes her like an instrumentalist in a jam session." Seattle Times critic Misha Berson described Matassa as a vocal chameleon who "can sound husky or crisp, ebullient of wailing, girlish or jaded." Matassa displays all of those aspects of her talent in this live recording made at Bake's Place, a small club in Redmond, acoss Lake Washington from Seattle.

- Taken from the liner notes by Doug Ramsey, author & jazz critic (Downbeat, JazzTimes)

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TRACKS:

1. WHY TRY TO CHANGE ME NOW/CRAZY HE CALLS ME 6:18
2. COME RAIN OR COME SHINE 6:53
3. ALL THIS AND HEAVEN TOO 6:56
4. RUBY 4:54
5. BLUE PRELUDE 4:37
6. I NEVER HAD A CHANCE/ I DONíT STAND A GHOST OF A CHANCE 6:40
7. HE WAS TOO GOOD TO ME 5:11
8. YOU AND THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC 4:41
9. MY SHIP 3:55
10. CLOSE YOUR EYES 5:55

PRODUCTION:

Produced by GRETA MATASSA
Recorded live at BAKEíS PLACE, Redmond Wa. June 20 & 21, 2001
Engineered by CHARLES TOMARAS
Mixed by REED RUDDY at IRONWOOD STUDIOS, SEATTLE
Mastered by MARK GUENTHER at SEATTLE DISC MASTERING
Photography by TASHA OWEN
Design & Layout by JOHN BISHOP/ORIGINARTS

PERFORMERS:

GRETA MATASSA - vocals
SUSAN PASCAL - vibraphone
RANDY HALBERSTADT - piano
CLIPPER ANDERSON - bass
MARK IVESTER - drums

REVIEWS:

JazzSteps (Jason West)
Greta Matassa packs the energy, embellishment and awe of a gospel choir into her voice, wedding the secular and spiritual to invariably produce roof-raising performances. A spontaneous singer who is not afraid to challenge herself, Greta takes a lot of risks with her voice and sometimes these risks get her into trouble on this live recording, where...

The Stranger (Chris DeLaurenti)
Greta Matassa was dazzling at the recent Ballard Jazz Walk. She did what few singers dare to do--let the audience call the tunes. I walked in just as Matassa scatted with aplomb on "How High the Moon," raining serpentine ribbons of nonsense syllables that would have made the legendary Ella Fitzgerald proud. After a slow, succulent "Lush Life," Mata...

All Music Guide (Matt Collar)
Greta Matassa has a sexy voice. Something like June Christy or Carmen McRae waking up from a nap. It's this beckoning, warm approach that undoubtedly had much to do with her being voted the best jazz vocalist four times in Seattle's jazz magazine Earshot. Like many regional performers, Matassa has relied mostly on live performances to shape her car...

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