Deja Vu

Description

For nine years, singer-songwriter Sarah Sharp has been performing with her quintet every Thursday night at the Elephant Room, a prestigious venue in Austin, Texas. A former leader of the critically acclaimed swingadelic group Jitterbug Vipers and a recognized composer at Universal Music, Sharp possesses an exquisite voice and a cosmopolitan talent for selecting transcendent jazz standards. For years, she has been asked to compile these arrangements into an album. The result, Déjà Vu, is a luminous debut album that blends nocturnal, atmospheric arrangements with Sharp's vocal virtuosity—alternately rebellious, resigned, precociously wise, and endowed with a remarkable ability to express vulnerability through her voice. Her interpretation of Bob Dylan's gem, "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," offers a reflection on the disappointment of past relationships, embodying life experience. Elsewhere, the Beatles' tragic "For No One" becomes vaporous and soothing, while the Cuban standard "Quizàs, Quizàs, Quizàs" is imbued with playful sensuality. The most striking track is undoubtedly her cover of Randy Newman's classic, "I Think It's Going To Rain Today," born from a chance encounter with Newman at a private concert in New Orleans. Sharp's sensitive interpretation reveals a virtuosic singer, ready to win over the general public.