It’s Saturday night, restless with pent-up energy, you call up a love and together you decide to go to a lounge everyone’s been talking about. When you get there, you realize that you’re in luck, tonight a new artist will be performing that’s been creating buzz all around town. The two of you take a seat a few feet from the stage. Just as your drinks arrive, you watch as the lights dim and a woman confidently walks on stage. She greets everyone, introducing herself as Leigh Jones, and then begins to sing.
Such is what it feels like listening to Leigh Jones debut album, “Music in My Soul.” The first track starts off with a forty-three second jazz instrumental that establishes a nostalgic mood reminiscent of the 60's, which is prevalent throughout the entire album. Afterwards the second track begins, “Music in My Soul,” that has Leigh singing about being born to make music. Once you hear Leigh’s voice, you’ll think that perhaps she is. She has a lovely voice, somewhat smoky, that never strays off key and can be intimate at times, which gives the listener the impression that she’s singing to them. Comparisons are always inevitable in the music industry, therefore some might compare Leigh to Teena Marie, Ella Fitzgerald, or Billie Holiday, but her voice isn’t quite as strong and commanding as them. Despite this, Leigh’s voice is extremely pleasant to listen to.
The album continues into “All This Love,” a Chico DeBarge cover song that Jones pulls off quite well. Upon hearing the song, one might think Leigh is the original singer, the way she makes the song her own, but of course the knowledge of who originally sang the song takes away from that thought. “Cold in L.A.” is next, a tune about Hollywood not being as glamorous as it seems. Sings Leigh, accompanied by the saxophone,
“Hollywood is all good/Welcome to the neighborhood/We got lots of sunshine and something like that/ It’s way cool but you gotta watch your back.”
The fifth track, “Can’t Get Enough,” is perhaps the albums at its best. The listener can easily tell Leigh is having fun, singing along the piano and the clapping hands and shouts of encouragement.
The production behind “Music in My Soul” is good for what it aims for, every instrument from trumpet to guitar is clearly heard, which is valuable when creating a jazz-influenced album. Lyrically, Leigh does well, occasionally making use of the narrative quality often found in many jazz songs, however it lacks the haunting resonance found in many songs sung by Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. The downside of “Music in My Soul” may be its jazz sound. Some might find this a turn off, having gotten used to the music found in today’s contemporary R&B, which often makes used of electronic sounds and mid to up-tempo beats influenced by hip-hop. But if you’re feeling nostalgic for the times when smoky bars and live bands was all the rage or looking to explore the music found in that era, Leigh Jones debut album, “Music in My Soul,” may be right for you.
