Australia’s new Diana Krall, Sarah McKenzie, releases  jazz album ‘We Could Be Lovers’

It’s not often a jazz album we love comes around, but Sarah McKenzie brought her fresh and groovy sound straight from the Berklee College of Music to us in her third album release, We Could Be Lovers. McKenzie is an ARIA Award-winning artist (2012) and has been touted as the next Diana Krall, and it is easy to see why.

This is a refreshing jazz album with a mix of McKenzie’s work and some re-works on standards by Cole Porter, Gershwin and Henry Mancini. “That’s It, I Quit” is a McKenzie original and has just the right mix of vocal and instrumentals with a cool groove. The double bass introduction is fantastic, with the rest of the piece being a Capriccio of sorts, which is layered by vocal, piano and strings.

Another McKenzie original title track, “We Could Be Lovers”, is the kind of song you want to grab your boo and slow dance to. McKenzie’s sultry vocals and minimal accompaniment are a perfect blend.

Putting her spin on the Cole Porter classic “At Long Last Love,” made famous by Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, it’s every bit as good. The standout track on this album is the haunting rendition of the Mancini classic “Moon River”.

You can hear the talented musician at work; her voice is warm and inviting, and the pared-back accompaniment of the guitarImpulseinspiration is just the right mix to breathe new life into such a classic piece.

Produced by the Grammy Award-winner Bruce Bacchus and accompanied by a variety of international musicians, Hugh Stuckey (guitar), Warren Wolf (vibraphone) and Marco Valeri (drums and percussion), McKenzie and company have delivered a strong jazz album fit for any enthusiast’s collection.