Susi Hyldgaard - It's Love We Need (2009)

Born in New York City and raised in Denmark, singer Susi Hyldgaard may be classified as a jazz singer but that’s too simple a label. Instrumental piano jazz--especially Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans--is a major part of her musical identity but so is the avant-pop of Bjork, the jazz-informed folk of Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones, and the DJ sampling of hip-hop. While her 2006 disc, BLUSH, was spare and simple, IT'S LOVE WE NEED reveals a rich orchestral palette with lots of brass, woodwinds, guitar, and keyboards via Danish and American musicians. Hyldgaard uses her voice not only to deliver her Beat-influenced lyrics but as a surreal and expressive instrument.~It's Love We Need Review by Mark Keresman