Artist:Anca Parghel Featuring the Klaus Ignatzek Trio
Rating:
Release Date: 1995 10
Total Time: 63:46
Genre: Vocal Music
Review
Although this CD is titled Indian Princess, Anca Parghel grew up in Romania, not India. The fact that Parghel is a jazz singer from Romania is certainly noteworthy, for Romania, unlike much of Western Europe, is hardly known for its abundance of jazz singers. Europeans could name a long list of jazz vocalists who came from Sweden, France, Holland, or Denmark, but that's not the case with Romania, which suffered under the iron boot of Stalinism for much of the 20th century. Romania had one of Eastern Europe's most infamous Stalinist regimes, and when dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (who was overthrown and executed in the late '80s) was in power, all things Western were suspect. But Parghel managed to discover jazz along the way, and 1990's Indian Princess shows her to be a recognizable singer, whose influences range from Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, and Sarah Vaughan to 1960s and 1970s post-bop instrumentalists. Though Parghel sings with an accent, she's easy to understand on such probing material as "I Love You" (not to be confused with the Cole Porter standard) and "Beautiful Colors." Parghel's scat singing is fairly adventurous. The emotional title song, in fact, finds her combining jazz with the type of wordless vocals that are part of traditional Indian music. Although Indian Princess is a bit uneven, it demonstrates that Parghel is an expressive singer whose risk-taking pays off more often than not. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide
Tracks
Track Title
Composers
Performers
Time
Cornflake
Klaus Ignatzek, Anca Parghel
Anca Parghel
(7:35)
Transylvanian Car Change
Klaus Ignatzek, Anca Parghel
Anca Parghel
(7:20)
I Love You
Klaus Ignatzek, Anca Parghel
Anca Parghel
(12:25)
Indian Princess
Klaus Ignatzek, Anca Parghel
Anca Parghel
(12:40)
Beautiful Colours
Klaus Ignatzek, Anca Parghel
Anca Parghel
(11:20)
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
