Album of the Week – Kristin Berardi ‘Where Or When’

‘Where Or When’ (ABC Jazz) by Kristin Berardi is Eastside Radio’s Album of the Week.

The two time Bell Award Winner creates quite an intimate moment between herself and the listener. With the unusual omission of a percussion part on the entire album, each remaining instrument suddenly feels closer to us, most of all the vocals. Vocals with an innate ability to convey the entire gamete of emotional subtleties coupled with a dexterity that allows the artist to traverse a wide rage of vocal techniques with ease. ‘Where or When’ is an album that is beautifully simple. It relies on the strength of the artists bringing to life the varying original and cover pieces as a substitute to extravagant production. This all Australian cast features Steve Newcomb on piano, long time collaborator James Sherlock on guitar, Julien Wilson on tenor saxophone, and Sam Anning on bass. This crux to the release has lead to the artists ability to capture a moment in time and a very ‘live music’ sound, almost as if you could close your eyes and imagine you were hearing each track reverberating around of the room of a Colbourne Ave-type venue.

This soundscape feeds the lyrical structure of the work, discussing the trials and tribulations of love. The title track, which also serves as it’s introduction, reminds us of the fleeting, spontaneous and addictive nature of new love. Tracks that follow like 4. ‘Born to Be Blue’ (Mel Tormé and Robert Wells) and 7. ‘Cool Baby’ (Fay Tishman, William J. Tennyson and Harriet Bailin) speak to a loves ebbs and flows, taking a disheartening fall by track 9 with a Berardi original ‘Is it OK for Clowns to Cry?’, all the while reminding us that a young spirit is sometimes best to keep in mind when in such a state as it allows us to bounce back and see the brighter side of things with the album’s closing track ‘Young at Heart’ (Johnny Richards and Carolyn Leigh).

Artist Listing:

Kristin Berardi; vocals
Steve Newcomb; piano
James Sherlock; guitar
Julien Wilson; tenor sax
Sam Anning; bass

Track Listing:

1. Where or When

2. Lucky 13

3. Suzanne

4. Born to be Blue

5 Brad

6. Unity Village

7. Cool Baby

8. Limbo

9. Is It OK for Clowns to Cry?

10. Young at Heart

For more information about Kristin Berardi, head to her FACEBOOK page or artist website https://www.kristinberardi.com

The album will be given away throughout the week. For your chance to win, you must be a supporter so make sure to sign up at https://eastsidefm.org/support-us-2/. Don’t forget you can also stream the station at WWW.EASTSIDEFM.ORG