Review and More

Our Review

Simply beautiful. A jazz sensation in the San Francisco Bay area, Natasha Miller applies a clean and classy approach to twelve Christmas cuts in The Season. This generous release (55 minutes!) provides great holiday fare for adults; the singing is sophisticated without vocal gymnastics, and the supporting ensemble smokes.

Although the musicianship here is outstanding throughout, Miller's voice is best showcased in slower pieces such as The Christmas Song, where every nuance can be savored. The artist's treatment of My Favorite Things is exceptional, injecting incredible intensity and emotion into a tune that is often fluff (and the piano jazz interludes are extremely cool). Her execution of One Hand One Heart (from "West Side Story") is achingly lovely within a gorgeous guitar framework. Her Amazing Grace/Silent Night/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star selection is one of the more creative seasonal medleys around, and it's a keeper.

The final track, Twas the Night Before Christmas, is a nearly six-minute reading (by Martin Miller) with musical accompaniment for the Clement Moore poem. Although I generally do not favor narratives in my holiday music, this is a particularly fine execution of a nostalgic favorite.

Let this be The Season that you discover Natasha Miller. She's the jazzy gift that keeps on giving!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

More

From the liner notes:

Appearing on this CD:
Natasha Miller
Piano: Josh Nelson, Larry Dunlap
Upright Bass: John Shifflett, Dan Feiszli
Drums: Tim Bulkley, Jeff Marrs (+ Shaker), Dan Foltz
Sax: Rob Roth
Guitars: Steve Erquiaga
Trombone: Adam Theis
Violins: Natasha Miller
Viola: Liz Prior
Cello: Elaine Kreston


From the Website:

The Season is vocalist Natasha Miller's first album of holiday music. Recorded live at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA, with additional studio tracks, it features both Christmas "standards," as well as non-holiday-specific songs that fit "the season."

Natasha says, "I wanted to pull together a fun, unique, and beautifully arranged collection of songs for people to enjoy, not only during the holidays, but before and after them, too."

About Natasha

Natasha began her musical career as a classical violinist, serving as a concertmaster for a symphony in the Midwest and founding her own string ensemble, "The Sapphire String Quartet." She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995 and began composing and performing songs, accompanying herself on the guitar and piano. Charged with the passion for singing jazz standards with her pianist father, she began performing for private events, parties, and concerts and festivals, enlarging her band and mixing jazz tunes with her own pop/rock compositions. She spent her days working in the advertising industry and her evenings cultivating her performing career.

In 2001, Natasha was a single mother working as a media buyer in an ad agency, making a yearly salary in the high fives when she decided she should quit her job to pursue her musical dream. She left her comfortable 3-bedroom home and moved with her 8-year-old daughter to a small one-bedroom apartment--just in case she didn't make enough money that first year. Since then, she's never looked back.

Natasha Miller

The Season

Order from Amazon

Track List