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Zora Young - The French Connection
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Zora Young is a regular Blues feature in France, a country that she probably knows better now than her native Mississippi. Throughout the hexagon, she has found enthusiastic audiences, a friendly atmosphere and a lot of musicians ready to help. Zora herself has had some cards up on her sleeve to please the French almost obsessive research for something different, for someone with special qualities. Zora, who possesses a raucous, masculine voice, feels comfortable with raw Chicago Blues as well as more sophisticated approaches, from Spiritual to Country. She remains, by and large, a Blues singer and it could not be otherwise, but she is tremendously versatile. That’s her best ace. Frenchmen do not like it easy and, as a result, in this CD you get a wide array of styles and three different bands, including one with two up-right basses, a cello and a ukulele. The final outcome is that the listener gets lost, stranded away by a happy mixture of musical styles played with a sort of joyful relaxation. Zora’s singing is close to excellence, but after awhile you guess how much room for improvement she might have ahead, probably more she can expect. Even worn-out standards like “Rock me Baby”, “Mistery Train”, “Honey Bee” sounds fresh and enjoyable though Zora shines of a special light in her song “Toxic”, augmented by a dark, evocative playing by the French band on duty. All in all, a great album by an underrated singer and committed, strong musicians – Zora’s musical partner Bobby Dirniger needs to be mentioned - performing in the right environment. Luca Lupoli
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