Black Coffee – Lils Mackintosh

Lils Mackintosh her wonderful voice and this smooth jazz band together are just wonderful. Lils Mackintosh was a jazz and blues singer and is considered one of the most distinguished artists in the Dutch jazz scene Unfortunately, she has passed away, but her beautiful music will continue forever.

The award-winning jazz and blues singer Lils Mackintosh is considered one of the most distinguished artists in the Dutch jazz scene. Lis Mackintosh her wonderful voice and this smooth jazz band together are just wonderful. Mackintosh had worked with musicians like Oscar Peterson, B.B. King, Scott Hamilton, Rita Reys, the Rosenberg Trio, Cor Bakker, Madeline Bell, Hans Dulfer, Candy Dulfer, Louis van Dijk, The Beets Brothers, Georgie Fame and the Dutch Swing College Band.

After the Netherlands had been introduced to a tribute to in the spring of 1993, fans and friends of Lils‘ knew that her debut album a tribute LP billie holiday would have a sequel Well, in the autumn of 1994 it actually happened - and on Black Coffee Lils Mackintosh again displays purely musical enjoyment. Again, she proves to be an artist gifted with style, whose feeling, flexibility and swing refer direct to legendary vocalists such as Billy Holiday, EIIa Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn.

LILS MACKINTOSH.
She has very sensitive diction and a timbre best characterized as "smoky She has time that testifies to almost implausible refinement and, in all thirteen songs which were carefully selected for this LP, makes it clear that her voice has control of shades as numerous as the biggest palette imaginable. On the pages of the songbook that Lils Mackintosh opens for us it is not just standards that are highlighted, but space has been reserved for some striking new pieces as weII: "People Will Try Again by Jack van Poll, “Ugly Old Town by Gerrit Vennema and two songs by La Lils herself: “Isn't it Odd” and “Dear Dream".

Lils: "When I spent a weekend in Antwerp the other day and visited Jack van Poll, we hit it off immediately. He let me hear one of his originals on the piano, and right away I felt so familiar with it that I gave it a special place on this LP. Also, I was attracted by Jack’s dominating, adventurous piano playing and I considered it a great honour to be given an opportunity to work with him on “Black Coffee".

Gerrit Vennema's ”Ugly Old Town" strongly links up with my feeling for Cologne. Yes; and that leaves me with two of my own pieces. In ”Dear Dream" I am traveling back to Nigeria in my mind. I felI very sad and lonely there, but thanks to Jos and Dita I got over my depression and wrote "Dear Dream". “Isn't It Odd”, too, is a typical Lils-song and I put it on my LP because I regularly get requests for it on my gigs".

In three days, during the hot month of August 1994, and without any rehearsals, Lils Mackintosh and her accompanists recorded the pieces that make this LP so beautiful. "I believe I have surpassed myself", Lils rapturously exclaimed when listening back to the tapes. But that also has to do with my wonderful musicians. Cris Monen, the lightly swinging guitarist whom I admire deeply, who taught me a great deal about music and who makes his debut on this LP as a harmonica player. Erik Roobaar whose bass pushes like few others. Frits Landesbergen, who not only enlivens the rhythm section as a drummer but also attracts attention as a most inventive vibraphonist. Saxophonist Allard Buwalda, who undoubtedly ranks among Europe's best players. And the two guest soloists, who, long ago, made their names: Jack van Poll, an astonishing piano virtuoso and Rein van den Broek whose sonorous flugelhorn pIaying adds special luster to "No More Blues”.

Lils Makcintosh. In fact, she is two women in one. A very timid, sometimes insecure woman, whose life hasn't been a bed of roses. Also, a woman who can be engagingly forward and forgets about her environment once she is on stage; a woman fully absorbed by her music.

Recording in Studio 88 – 1994.

TRACKS:

1. Black coffee - P.F. Webster/S. Burke
2. Just one of those things - C. Porter
3. I wished on the moon - J. Parker/R. Rainger
4. No more blues - Checa de Saudade
5. All or nothing at all - A. Altman/J. Lawrence
6. Isn’t it odd - L. Mackintosh
7. Dear dream - L. Mackintosh
8. Jeepers Creepers - H. Warren/J. Mercer
9. My funny valentine - R. Rodgers/L. Hart
10. What a little moonlight can do - H. Woods
11. Easy to love - C. Porter
12. Ugly old town - G. Vennema
13. Please don’t talk about me when I’m gone - S. Stept/S.Claire