Regular Columnists

Artist: Robin Stine
Album: Daydream
CD Review: Robin Stine Daydream

Let me set the scene. The lights are low. A fire crackles and pops in the fireplace. Two glasses of Chardonnay sit half empty and forgotten on the coffee table. You and the one you love are in each other’s arms as you dance slowly across the floor. The music is Robin Stine’s debut CD Daydream. The mood is perfect.

The first thing you notice when you listen to this CD is Ms Stine’s voice. She delicately entices you as she winds her way through thirteen Jazz selections. Her voice is warm, subtle and evocative. She is never over the top. She doesn’t try to impress with feats of vocal legerdemain or audio pyrotechnics. She uses her considerable talent to serve the needs of each song. She succeeds mightily.

Listening to Daydream it is easy to get lost in Ms Stine’s vocal talent and forget that she also wrote 12 of the 13 selections on the CD. These songs are not the work of an amateur songwriter wannabe. They are well written, well structured, and creative both lyrically and melodically. While clearly in the Jazz genre, she brings in elements of blues and folk music into her songs which make her style distinctly her own.

Daydream was recorded in New York in September of 2005 at The Clubhouse and at Millbrook Sound Studios. Drew Vonderhaar and Mark Bingham deserve kudos for creating a sonic landscape that is open and airy and never overshadows the vocal. The impression one gets is of a small, intimate Jazz club without the sound of clinking glasses and conversation to distract you from the music.

Robin Stine’s Daydream is a wonderful CD on every level. It is going into the regular rotation at my house. If you would like hear some samples of Ms Stine’s work or find out more about her, please check out her website: www.robinstine.com. The website is a treat in itself.

Now if you will excuse me, I believe my lovely wife would like to dance.