2021 NativeDSD Album Of The Year Award – Vocals

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The dazzling sound and enigmatic performances of Patricia Barber’s latest jazz spellbinder CLIQUE! is the first of Impex’s latest high-end audio offering: Reel-to-reel tapes! They’ve given the “Impex Treatment” into very small runs of 15 IPS, 1/4” tapes as our LPs and digital products, making Impex REELS a step-above. Renowned mastering engineer Scott Hull at Masterdisk will record Jim Anderson’s original 32 bit/352.8 kHz DXD masters directly to tape with no additional processing. What you hear on Impex REELS is exactly what Anderson and Barber intended.

Impex REELS are made to order, one at a time, transferred and assembled by hand. Each package includes two 15 IPS 1/4” tapes in individual boxes, complete large-format booklets from the LP versions, a deluxe tip-on printed case for each reel in the set, and a certificate of authenticity from Scott Hull.

The long-awaited successor to Nightclub, her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite first all standards album, Clique! features a track list of tunes that Barber has frequently performed as encores throughout her illustrious career, including classics by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stevie Wonder, Lee Hazlewood, Lerner & Loewe, Thelonious Monk and more. Each track renders every inflection of Barber’s voice with astounding presence and clarity, perfectly complementing her nuance in ways that continue to redefine the standards of sound.

After growing an international cult following, earning the first-ever Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a non-classical songwriter, and becoming an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Patricia Barber is back with a “silk, velvet, languid, warm” journey through music history as she “respects traditions, bends them to make her own points, and freshens them into something new,” as noted in the album liner notes by NPR’s Susan Stamberg.

These are relaxed, communal sessions. Her long-time core duo of bassist Patrick Mulcahy and drummer Jon Deitemyer ride up and down, in and out of Barber’s complex, sensitive playing and reflective singing. The support of her long-term players, along with guitarist Neal Alger and saxophonist Jim Gailloretto allow her to shine brightly while digging out striking moments for their own unique contributions. The chemistry is palpable, all-encompassing. This group’s long-developed synergy—painstakingly curated by these musicians for years—provides both a metaphor and the perfect title for her new album.

Patricia Barber says:

The harmonic language of Jazz, as well as that of The Great American Songbook, is certainly rich. Look how much has come of out of it. But it’s circumscribed. I started wanting to hear something else.”

Patricia Barber – Piano and Vocals
Patrick Mulcahy – Acoustic Bass
Jon Deitemyer – Drums
Neal Alger – Guitar
Jim Gailloreto – Saxophone