Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jana Herzen: Passion Of A Lonely Heart

Jana Herzen: Passion Of A Lonely Heart

By Dan Bilawsky
November 20, 2012
View read count

Numerous artists, both famous and relatively obscure, have found a recording home on the Mot��ma Music imprint. Every musician on the roster, from pianist extraordinaire

Monty Alexander

piano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Monty Alexander and veteran bassist

Rufus Reid

bass, acoustic
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Rufus Reid to newcomer-turned-vocal star

" data-original-title="" title="">Gregory Porter, has benefited from head honcho Jana Herzen's attention to detail, tireless promotional efforts and label largesse; every artist, that is, except for Herzen herself. Mot��ma was initially born as an outlet for Herzen's own music, but she had to hang up her guitar and curtail the singing while attending to the label's day-to-day business affairs. Now, as Mot��ma Music celebrates a decade of "promoting recording artists of power and distinction," Herzen has finally found time for herself.

Almost ten years separate Herzen's recorded debut, Soup's On Fire (Mot��ma, 2003), and this sophomore effort, but no signs of rust are evident. She carries herself in coolly nonchalant fashion as she sings and plays with an understated sense of grace and artistry. Herzen operates in singer-songwriter-meets-mellow jazz rhythm guitarist mode, but she doesn't draw major stylistic lines in the sand. She keeps things consistently intimate, relying only on her voice and guitar, and the bass work of label mate

Charnett Moffett

bass
1967 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Charnett Moffett, who brilliantly matches Herzen's mood and artistic mannerisms throughout.

While Herzen favors originals, she isn't averse to including a few nuggets from the past that she admires. "'Tis Autumn" is Herzen's nod to vocal icon

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald and guitarist

Joe Pass

guitar
1929 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Pass, who recorded the song on Fitzgerald & Pass...Again (Pablo, 1976) and subsequently inspired her to explore the art of jazz. She visits

Chick Corea

piano
1941 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Chick Corea's "Spain (I Remember)" with stunning results, pays a tribute-of-sorts to Cesaria Evora with "Sodade," and rolls along with an easy-strumming gait on "My Baby Just Cares For Me."

The remaining seven numbers all come from Herzen's pen. Her own music can be bluesy ("Secrets Are Safe With Me"), sad-eyed ("Passion Of A Lonely Heart") or upbeat, but never simple. She's well-practiced in the art of veiled sophistication. Herzen understands the "less is more" strategy better than most and she maximizes its potential on this mellow treat-of-an-album.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

'Tis Autumn; Bali Holiday; Passion Of A Lonely Heart; Spain (I Remember); Earth's Heart Beats; Night Blooming Jasmine; Sodade; Secrets Are Safe With Me; My Latin Love; My Baby Just Cares For Me; Here With You.

Personnel

Jana Herzen

guitar

Jana Herzen: guitar, vocals; Charnett Moffett: acoustic bass, electric bass.

Album information

Title: Passion Of A Lonely Heart | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: Motema Music

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Christoph Stiefel: Isorhythms and Ci...
< Previous

OCT-LOFT Jazz Festival: Shenzhen, Ch...
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.