''Velvet Vault'' is a studio album by Argentinian jazz singer
Karen Souza
Karen Souza (born January 10, 1984) is an Argentinian jazz and bossa nova singer, songwriter, and producer.
Career
Souza began her career by providing vocals for producers of electronic music. Under pseudonyms she sang ver ...
. The album was recorded in Colombia, Japan, and Brazil and released on 1 December 2017 via Music Brokers label.
Reception
Andy Hermann of ''
DownBeat
' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...
'' wrote "Souza brings a timeless quality to the material, whether it’s a standard like “I Fall In Love Too Easily”—rendered on ''Velvet Vault'' as a hat-tip to Chet Baker's iconic version, complete with muted trumpet—or a recent indie-rock hit like
MGMT
MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...
’s “Kids,” which Souza, who also produced ''Velvet Vault'', stripped of its original electronic instrumentation and cast as a ghostly piano ballad".
Ilana Kalish of ''
Atwood Magazine
Atwood Magazine is a digital music magazine that focuses on emerging and established artists from around the world. The magazine was founded in 2012 and is currently run by editor-in-chief Mitch Mosk.
History
Atwood Magazine was founded in 20 ...
'' noted "Since 2011, the vintage vixen has released 5 albums of covers as a soloist and more with The Cooltrane Quartet. But, Ms. Karen is no one trick vixen. Nestled in with the cornucopia of covers galore on her latest album Velvet Vault (’17) are some very well interpreted jazz standards. Which proves to an even broader, perhaps older generation of the music world that Ms. Souza’s chops are legitimate, and her kudos well earned".
A reviewer of ''Broadway World'' stated "Featuring several jazz standards, "Velvet Vault" is a more mature and more subtle than Karen's previous efforts, and she truly feels is her best album to date".
Track listing
References
{{Authority control
2017 albums
Jazz albums by Argentine artists