Cécile Verny Quartet - The Bitter and the Sweet (2007)

Franco-African jazz singer Cecile Verny, who entered the German jazz charts in Spring 2005 at #13 with her album European Songbook, has set yet another milestone with The Bitter and the Sweet, continuing the tradition for which her ensemble has long been celebrated. Verny applies African roots, French song tradition, and smooth jazz "scat-robatics" to unite the rhythmic, pulsing compositions of her quartet. Here, her incredible voice sounds more personal than ever. Excellent musicians accompany her, highly inspired and very skilled, and their performances demonstrate modern jazz at its best. Cecile Verny was born on the Ivory Coast, raised in France, and now lives in Germany. In either English or French, she is a singer who knows intuitively how to make magic--and how to do so with her ensemble, creating dreamy songs with incredible intensity, swing & blues that tingle and drive, and chanson sounds full of warmth.