LORRAINA MARRO, Love is For All Time

A whimsical comment from a prominent jazz critic says it all about Lorraina Marro, a stylish and sophisticated jazz singer, standards interpreter and storyteller extraordinaire who was named one of Los Angeles’ Jazz & Blues Living Legend Honorees in 2015.

The quote, which we can apply just as passionately in any discussion of Marro’s delightfully stylish and sophisticated new collection Love is For All Time, reads: “There's that moment of magic when the night and the day are precisely balanced on the horizon, and magic is in the gentle breeze. There's that moment of magic when the air is so still that you can actually hear inspiration call to you. And there's Lorraina Marro on stage.”

The singer lives up to these words gracefully, purposefully and romantically/poignantly on a set featuring the backing and stunning soloing of some of L.A.’s best jazz cats – pianist Steve Rawlins (who also arranged or co-arranged every track), bassist Jennifer Leitham, guitarist Grant Geissman, drummer Steve Pemberton, saxophonist Rickey Woodard and trumpeter Dr. Bobby Rodriguez.

It’s a testament to her grace, emotional range and sultry vocal tone that she takes decades-old (mostly Songbook) songs long associated with jazz legends like Billie Holiday (“I Wished On The Moon”), Nina Simone (a witty rendition of “My Baby Just Cares For Me,” rife with contemporary references), Ella Fitzgerald (“Stairway to the Stars”) and Barbra Streisand (“People”) and comfortably and swingingly makes them her own.

Beyond the lush standards, Marro brings touches of exotica to the mix via two of the set’s most compelling tracks, the trumpet laced “Viajera Del Rio” (sung completely in Spanish) and “Yesterday I Heard the Rain,” an intimate duet with Geissman sung in both Spanish and English.