Viviane Martin: Press

Viviane Cardinal:The Blue In You

Calgary vocalist Viviane Cardinal turns in an expertly crafted set on her new CD that shows that she has listened to and learned from the top singers in the jazz business. She has developed all the scatting, syncopating and octave stretching techniques that it takes to handle the tonal and technical demands of some challenging material from the pens of Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, Clifford Brown and Calgary musician Dan Martin, who also happens to be Cardinal's husband. All the elements are in place, therefore, for solid mainstream studio performance as polished as anything you would expect to hear in a two-drink minimum jazz club in New York. The instrumental backing, by pianist Brian Buchanan, Saxman Phil Dwyer, trumpeter Steve McDade, bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Billie Drummond propels the singing into the upper and lower reaches of Cardinal's considerable range.....
Rating ***out of five

Jazz singer knows all about rhythm
CD of the week
Viviane Cardinal
I Know A Thing
(Viviane Cardinal/Daniel Martin
Rating ****out of four
Viviane Cardinal's second album, I Know a Thing, demonstrates that the Calgary singer knows a thing or two about the power of jazz to make the listener feel glad to be alive. Cardinal's expressive voice exudes warmth and pleasure as it travels gracefully in and out of the tight and intriguing textures woven for her by trombonist Hugh Fraser, pianist Dave Restivo, drummer Owen Howard and bassist Jim Vivian. Her versatility, and the unassuming approach she takes to her material, is reminiscent of the great Sarah Vaughan, "Rhythm, it all begins with rhythm," Cardinal sings in the first of the CD's nine original tracks. The wonderful truth of the phrase is borne out by the rest of the album.
-Bob Clark