Born in Time, a yummy concoction of both vintage and modern jazz aromas, is the latest album from Rachelle Garniez.
Rachelle Garniez is a songwriter, singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist shaped by the cultural breadth of New York City’s Upper West Side, where she was raised by an American classical pianist and a European professor of French existentialist literature.
Her early influences ranged from collective free-schooling and Austrian Expressionism to roller disco and the congueros of Central Park. At 17, she traveled through Europe, picking up a guitar and singing in the streets of Venice and Avignon before spending time in southern Spain, where a local Gypsy flamenco singing champion took her in.
Back in New York, Garniez settled in the East Village, embraced the accordion, formed The Fortunate Few, and went on to release seven acclaimed solo albums. Her songs have been performed and recorded by Catherine Russell, Karen Elson, and Ingrid Lucia of The Flying Neutrinos; she has also performed or collaborated with Jack White, Suzzy Roche, Thomas Dolby’s TED House Band, Sven Ratzke, Palmyra Delran, Mumbo Gumbo, Hazmat Modine, and Sxip Shirey.
She is also a member of VickiKristinaBarcelona (VKB), the trio that reinterprets the Tom Waits songbook through three-part harmony and inventive instrumentation.
Produced by Rachelle Garniez, Andrew Morse, and Christopher Allen, Born in Time opens with the sparkling “Je Cherche Un Homme,” a jazz tune populated with retro flavors and a muted trumpet. Garniez’s silky, buoyant vocals imbue the lyrics with charming flavors.
Talking about the song, Garniez says, “Although I was born and raised in New York City, my first language was French, speaking and singing. Family dynamics changed, and so did the primary language. My French is most definitely rusty, but it’s a real treat to revisit. This jaunty tune epitomizes the cheeky bon vivant Gay Paree, they trip the light fantastic, romantic.”
Slower and full of a drifting wistfulness, “Harbor Lights” offers a sad, evocative love song as Garniez narrates the ache of her feelings as her lover sails off into the sunset. Whereas “Lucky Day” rolls out on wonderful, chiming colors underscored by an elegant bassline. The harmonics flow and trickle, allowing Garniez to utilize her nuanced voice to express hope amid the blues.
Garniez shares, “I never told him, but I wrote ‘Lucky Day’ back in 2003 for a dear pal, a wonderful musician who was working through a bitter heartbreak. We spent many a late night at 24-hour coffee shops talking and talking and attempting to make some sense of it all.
“From a safe distance, I was desperately in love with him, but luckily nothing came of that other than a song that morphed into a general mantra of gratitude and will hopefully serve to cheer and inspire anyone who’s living through or has lived through some hard things. We’re still pals.”
A personal favorite, “Rose of Washington Square” features the glimmer of a floating piano, an accordion, and sumptuous brass accents. Garniez exploits the luscious range of her voice on this track, unveiling an array of emotions.
The title track, a Bob Dylan song, simmers with smoldering jazz textures, at times bouncy, at times nostalgic. Garniez’s vocals highlight a scrumptious New Orleans lilt that gives the tune a playful air.
In an album of sweet, tasty, jazz tunes, Rachelle Garniez offers meditations on love, life, happiness, and heartache. It’s a grand, charismatic album.
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