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Barb Jungr – Every Grain of Sand – Amazon.co.uk

Bob Dylan isn't the most obvious singer-songwriter to be covered by jazz musicians and singers, although there have been notable successes in the past, including Keith Jarrett's sublime My Back Pages. But the contradictions in style and genre are more apparent than real, if Barb Jungr's ease with the transition on Every Grain of Sand is anything to go by. Admittedly she meets Dylan half way by only partly repositioning their settings. The arrangements for songs like If Not For You and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight are sparse and transparent, leaving the words and melodies to make their own salient points. Jungr's best weapon in dealing with the explosive possibilities in Dylan's lyrics is a soft-voiced intimacy that hints at the compassion and breadth of vision present in the great man's own best recordings. Luckily, she uses this weapon sufficiently often here to make this an intriguing outing into Dylan territory.

Amazon.co.uk
13 April 2002