Whistling In The Dark | Jazz Weekly
The Burt Bacharach songbook is delivered in a film noir’d atmosphere under the classy leadership of vocalist Denise Donatelli. She brings in the best of the best for musical support, including Vinnie Colaiuta/dr, Anthony Wilson/g, Larry Goldings/p-key, Larry Klein/b-key and Thomas Dybdahl in order to paint rich and thoughtful portraits in the Bacharach museum of modern art.
With Wilson’s guitar, Donatelli takes a spooky and tropical voyage through “Walk On By” and a spacious “The Look Of Love” with added textures from the keyboards. Donatelli glistens on the more pop tunes, like the sepia title track and a late night read of “In the Darkest Place”. Colaiuta’s mallets add mystery to “In Between the Heartakes” while his brushes work with Goldings’ piano as Donatelli is a sophisticated lady on “Mexican Divorce”. Guitar effects and subdued piano add an intriguing backdrop for her on “Anyone Who Had A Heart”, and she gives illumination to the candle lit “A House Is Not A Home”. A jazzy night gallery.