Dear Ms. Dearie

Take a great pianist, arranger, and singer like Dawn Clement, pair her with rhythm section mates Jeff Hamilton and John Clayton, add guitarist Steve Kovalcheck for good measure, and have (drummer) Matt Wilson produce the proceedings. What could go wrong? Absolutely nothing! In her tribute to Blossom Dearie Dawn Clement has created a good time, great feeling, hard swinging record. If there was ever a musician deserving a tribute, it's Blossom Dearie, and there isn't a better person to pay tribute to Dearie than Dawn Clement. Guitarist Steve Kovalcheck's inclusion was a good choice to keep things varied, his solos are a nice yin to Clement's Yang, and he shines on "Home." Jeff Hamilton's drums and John Clayton's bass are recorded with care, and their connection is telepathic as is evidenced on "The Party's Over." Hamilton's brush playing is amazing (as always,) just give a listen to "Tout Doucement," "Dance Only with Me," and "It's Love," which is the best track on the record (and not just because of the brush trades.) Listen to the sound of Hamilton's, brushes, drums, and cymbals on "I'm Hip," that is what is called "touch." Clement's arrangements are quite nice, but not just for her harmonic treatments, but in how 81 Modern Drummer June 2026 she varies the instrumentation and the focus within the trio. Clement's vocal style is natural, unaffected, and pure, and the same could be said about her piano playing. With all due respect to Wilson, it sounds like producing this record was among the easiest jobs ever, like I said, with all these ingredients what could go wrong? Nothing. Congrats to everyone involved on a fantastic recording. The love comes through with every note.