CATHY SEGAL-GARCIA, The Jazz Chamber

On her free-wheeling, joyfully schizophrenic 11th album The Jazz Chamber, Cathy Segal-Garcia surrounds her emotionally resonant, compellingly theatrical jazz vocals with what seems like the entire L.A. Jazz Scene – including top producers and arrangers Bevin Manson, Dennis Dreith and Dori Amarilio, a full scale chamber orchestra (sometimes dialed down to a string quartet); jazz greats like Bennie Maupin and Bob Sheppard; well-known guest vocalists Kate McGarry, Mon David and Tierney Sutton; and Segal-Garcia’s own improvisational vocal group Fish To Birds.

Segal-Garica's set list is as unexpected and eclectic as her arrangements, ranging from a waltz through the Charlie Parker-popularized “Star Eyes” and mystical take on Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time” to a romantic “Cinema Paradiso” and a pair of Les McCann soul jazz classics. A prodigious work, The Jazz Chamber continues Segal-Garcia’s ongoing evolution as a jazz visionary.