Far Away Places

There's a starkness to Far Away Places — an album that features nothing but lone vocal and guitar — that, rather than give the music a spare quality, instead brings out the richness of the performances. In other situations, Petra van Nuis' voice might be considered thin or lacking in drive. Unlike many other contemporary female jazz singers, she's not a belter but a soother, and she keeps things clean and simple when she sings, avoiding the pyrotechnics and histrionics that are increasingly popular today. Similarly, Andy Brown is not about flash and dazzle but about nuance and tastefulness. On the 13 mostly standards that occupy the recording, they complement each other so well that it's difficult to imagine them in the more raucous full-band setting (although both have done so). Even "Caravan," a tune usually given over to fireworks, is rendered softly and subtly, and the cleverness of the opening "Destination Moon" is made all the more clever due to its lack of extraneous sounds. That doesn't mean that there's no substance here, however: "Born to Blow the Blues" is possessed of plenty of soul, and Brown packs ample technique into his solo take on Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Bim Bom." On the rare occasion when the duo does pick up the pace, as on "Me, Myself and I," they reveal another side, playful and cool (albeit still sweet), that might be worth exploring further on a subsequent release.