Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Fleur Stevenson: Follow Me

Fleur Stevenson: Follow Me

By Roger Farbey
June 16, 2019
View read count

There are plenty of standards adorning Fleur Stevenson's debut album. This comes in the wake of her career-launching salvo, an EP entitled Introducing Fleur Stevenson, released in 2016. Stevenson possesses an appealing voice and, on the breezy opener "Beautiful Love," proves she can scat as deftly as she can sing Haven Gillespie's memorable words. While the majority of the album's eleven tracks are derived from the Great American Songbook, there are a couple of obvious outliers included here. Tim Hardin's lyrical "Misty Roses" is given an appropriately elegant work over. But the real oddity is Ian McDonald and Pete Sinfield's "I Talk To The Wind," which first appeared on the

King Crimson

band / ensemble / orchestra
b.1969

" data-original-title="" title="">King Crimson proto-prog rock album In The Court Of The Crimson King (Island Records, 1969). Although it is unusual to be re-envisaged as a jazz song, especially a samba, Stevenson does a good job of adding poignancy to what was an atypically romantic number for

Robert Fripp

guitar
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">Robert Fripp's seemingly immortal band.

Another track that isn't usually attributable to the canon of American standards is "Can't Help Falling In Love" (despite Andy Williams' best efforts), but Stevenson succeeds in converting this torch song into a sultry, jazzy ballad. The choice of other numbers is more predictable, such as "Teach Me Tonight" and "I Thought About You," where Stevenson's perky delivery appears to channel some of her vocalist predecessors such as

Peggy Lee

vocals
1920 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Peggy Lee and

Stacey Kent

vocals
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Stacey Kent. She can also swing with the best of them as heard on the old

Frank Sinatra

vocals
1915 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Sinatra hit, "Old Devil Moon."

Stevenson clearly benefits from a winsome voice that delivers right-on-the-money versions of

Hoagy Carmichael

piano
1899 - 1981

" data-original-title="" title="">Hoagy Carmichael's irresistible "The Nearness Of You" and

Cole Porter

composer / conductor
1891 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Cole Porter's timeless "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," replete with more groove-laden scat singing. But Stevenson also benefits from a first-class backing trio, as evidenced by Pete Billington's piano solo on "Beautiful Love" and Raph Mizraki's bass solo on "I Thought About You." Meanwhile, the closer,

Michel Legrand

piano
1932 - 2019

" data-original-title="" title="">Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe In Spring," provides a gorgeously sensitive finale to fifty minutes of charming vocal jazz.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Beautiful love; Misty roses; Follow me; The nearness of you; You'd be so nice to come home to; Can't help falling in love; Teach me tonight; I talk to the wind; I thought about you; Old devil moon; You must believe in spring.

Personnel

Fleur Stevenson

vocals

Fleur Stevenson: vocals; Pete Billington: piano; Raph Mizraki: double bass; Simon Price: drums.

Album information

Title: Follow Me | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Fleur Stevenson

PREVIOUS / NEXT

789 Miles
< Previous

You Get What You Give
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.