Something STILL Cool With Jim Malloy

Album Review

Vocalist Elli Fordyce's performing career has been interrupted twice, once by getting married to raise a family, the second time for 15 years after a major car wreck while traveling with her band. What's surprising is that she was around seventy years old at the time of these recording session, yet she sounds much younger. Having studied improvisation with Connie Crothers and in pianist Barry Harris' vocal workshop, Fordyce has developed a subtle style that draws from June Christy and other cool singers of the 1950s. Pianist Harry Whitaker is her primary accompanist for most of the sessions, with David Epstein taking over for "Imagination" and "Something Cool," both of whom blend well with the singer. Her engaging duets with vocalist Jim Malloy are also a treat. Something Still Cool represents a long deferred dream coming true for the talented Elli Fordyce.