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By Charleston Hepston
 

Christine Rosholt – Detour Ahead
2006 Idea Dog Productions
SQ Issue:  Spring 2006, Volume 16, Issue 2

The Band:  Christine Rosholt – vocals; Jay Epstein – drums; Michael O’Brien – bass; Tanner Taylor – piano; Robert Everest – guitar, vocal; Steve Roehm - vibraphone

 On the bandstand, Christine exudes enough warmth and charm to enchant even the most reluctant audience without singing a single note.  An audio recording is another matter – the singer must engage the listener solely through her voice and choice of material.  ‘Detour Ahead’ succeeds on both accounts.   --- Andrea Canter, liner notes.

Christine Rosholt’s debut CD is a listener’s delight.   Her voice is bright and innocent with excellent diction and spot on phrasing.

Rosholt has assemble a fantastic rhythm section.  These are some of the top Twin Cities musicians and they compliment her vocals quite well.  Taylor’s piano solos are top notch.

Rosholt’s song selection shows her diverse abilities as a vocalist.   You’ll find wonderful jazz standards like I Cover the Waterfront and the title song as well as nice renditions of Bye Bye Blackbird and Honeysuckle Rose.  The vibraphone on the latter really spices up the number.  Dancers will find both of those “in the pocket” and a playful delight to dance to.

From a swing dancer’s perspective, besides the two numbers already mentioned, you may like From This Moment On, a barn burner at 316 bpm’s but fun none-the-less, and Early Autumn, a nice ‘n’ easy tune at 135 bpm’s.  

Rosholt’s vision of this CD was not necessarily to create a great dance CD but instead to create a great jazz CD, which she has done by compiling some nice swingin’ jazz with some latin rhythms and some bopish tunes, not to mention a couple nice ballads.  This is a listener’s delight and a bonus to get a couple swingin’ dance tunes.

Jazz enthusiasts will really enjoy this CD.  If you are looking strictly for a CD with lots of swing dance music, you may want to pass on this but it is definitely one I am glad to have in my jazz library. 

Bottom Line:  To buy or not to buy….. JAZZ FANS, BUY!  Here’s how:  http://www.christinerosholt.com/CDs.html