Mia Vermillion "Alone Together With The Blues"

If you like the music of Patsy Cline or K D Lang or Norah Jones you need to check out this cd. Mia Vermillion's cd "Alone Together With The Blues" features two terrific talents--the vocals by Mia, and the guitars by Orville Johnson. They both come out of the Seattle, Washington area, and from the liner notes it appears that most of this disc was recorded in one or the other's living rooms. The combination of Mia and Orville is quite magical. It's not a loud or rushed presentation. It's a fine acoustic music cd, rounded out with a gentle and perfectly swinging rhythm section by Chuck Deardorf and Ben Smith. The tempos are relaxed, the vocal is front and center--and the guitar is sweet and grooving. The resulting music is tasteful and richly rewarding. Vermillion writes only two of the songs here, but they fit the overall vibe very well--and one of them, "Love's Lost And Found," might be the best track on the disc. The covers are well-chosen: a terrific take on Lil Green's "In The Dark," Leroy Carr's "In The Evening," Big Bill Broonzy's "When I Have Been Drinkin'" and a really well-done take of "I'm Going To Copyright Your Kisses," Mary Lou Williams' "Walkin.'" The cd's last track is another winner--the Lew Pollack/Paul Francis Weber classic "Two Cigarettes In The Dark" with a wonderful guest turn by Hans Teuber on clarinet that wraps up the song and the cd just beautifully.

This one may not appeal to the folks who love loud guitar pyrotechnics, but in its quiet and winning way this is a really good cd. Available online at http://www.miavermillion.com