Ms. Freelon is a vibrant and expressive singer with a beautiful clear voice, who puts a lot of herself into these tunes -- some old, some new. I've bought several surround discs by female jazz vocalists, not being very familiar with the genre otherwise, and this one is probably my favorite.
This has a spread-out mix as found on many Concord SACDs, and is a great sounding recording. Nnenna is in front of course, the piano seems to be fixed in LR, the drums in RR, and other musical elements are in front with occasional percussive things moving around a bit. Perfect for the material, this mix is all about the vocalist and never for a moment could you be fooled into thinking this is stereo -- there's always something happening.
Musically, I really enjoy a number of the tracks, particularly the ones in which she cuts loose and scats for a while. Track 6 "Birk's Works" is nothing but scat. Track 3, "I Live to Love You" has a bit more than the usual surround activity, with some added percussion. Track 8 is Stevie Wonder's "Visions", and it bounces right along.
I knew this was a good disc but had not played it for a long time. It's even better than I remembered it. Nnenna and her music may or may not be your style, but I find it hard to fault the production or mix. I'm wavering between a 9 and a 10, and am going with 10. Very pleased to have re-discovered this in my collection.
Mark Z