Kristin Callahan – Lost In A Dream
Released – 16 July 2021

I started listening to the one original from Ms. Callahan, surrounded by a half-dozen cover tunes. “Lost In A Dream” is a perfect introduction to her lyrical styling.  It is both melancholy and inviting at the same time.  The love story not returned floats along perfectly framed by Matvei Sigalov on guitar and Mark Prince’s percussion.

You don’t know what you have lost,

But one day, you will remember.

“The person in love is literally lost in a dream, hoping their love will finally be reciprocated,” Callahan remarks.

Ah, but returned love is hard to find anywhere on this sad set.  The classic mid-60s Oscar + Grammy-winning “Shadow Of Your Smile” from Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster is a winning testament:

Now when I remember spring
All the joy that love can bring
I will be remembering
The shadow of your smile.

Ms. Callahan says she wanted standards that were “a move away from being quite so traditional.

She’s got that here.  There’s no big band, but rather a collection of acoustic artists that, while sounding fresh, never depart far from the essence of the melody.

The intimacy of Ms. Callahan’s voice belies her range. It only became evident to me after hearing the second or third track. There’s much to like in Bassist Eliot Seppa’s arrangements, but at times they can nearly overpower Ms. Callaghan’s delicate voice.  A little lighter hand on the mix would have served this set nicely.

Still, it’s a well-conceived and executed set.  It makes me want to look for two earlier releases, “A New Love” and “One Magic Day.”  This set was primarily recorded pre-pandemic. Some percussion was added from Lee Pearson and Carroll Dashiell III in their home studios.

My favorites include Ms. Callahan’s original “Lost In A Dream” along with “Shadow Of Your Smile” and the lone ray of optimism, Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.”

I’ll be adding these three at the little online radio station (62nd Street) come 12 July and checking DC performance venues to make a road trip once live performances return.

This set is very highly recommended.

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A personal note: This blog sometimes lies fallow for weeks, no months at a time. Other priorities, other commitments, other shiny things – well, none of that is an adequate excuse. Either I’m going to do this, or I’m not, I tell myself.

But here we are again. Another promise to tend the garden with more regularity and a couple of albums that arouse me from my reverie. One a week – either current or vintage. That’s the renewed goal.

Hopefully, with better ears and some notion of work that approaches commercial viability. I’ve received a couple of albums lately that clear that hurdle. This is one of them.