A Very Naama Twofer...Part III.

The Singles "Weaver of Dreams" and "Deep In A Dream."

Yaniv Gheber

New York City jazz vocalist, Naama, induces our revere with the new single twofer “Weaver Of Dreams” and “Deep in a Dream.”

Following her two previous twofer releases ("When I Grow Too Old To Dream" / "Time To Say Goodnight" and "I Had The Craziest Dream" / "Someday I'll Find You") Naama induces us with "Weaver of Dreams" and "Deep In A Dream." These songs will appear on the soon to be released Dream With Me (La Reserve). For this twofer, Naama augments her core rhythm section of pianist Jeb Patton and bassist Dave Baron with flutist Itai Kriss, who contributes his own dream-inducing charm to the project.

“Weaver Of Dreams”

Jack Elliott and Victor Young composed “Weaver of Dreams” which was first recorded by Nat "King" Cole with Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Les Baxter in September 1951 but first commercially released by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra in November 1951. Cole takes the piece on as a lush ballad, while Crosby ratchets up the tempo, making the song an upbeat love affair. In Naama’s performance, bassist Dave Baron turns up the gas, bettering Crosby’s tempo by a lot. Naama enunciates the lyrics with a machinist’s precision, but delivering the song with a hurried matter-of-factness. Flutist Itai Kriss delivers an almost bebop solo break followed by some deft scat singing by Naama, who swings out into near vocalese. The coda is the way a wink sounds.

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“Deep In A Dream”

Naama finds solid middle ground between Frank Sinatra’s grave and thematic reading from his concept recordings In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol, 1955) and Chet Baker’s Morpheous-inspired, clinical performance on Chet Baker With Fifty Italian Strings (Jazzland, 1959). Eddie DeLange and Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Deep In A Dream” is a darkly realized ballad of want and need more than desire. Naama approaches the song lyrically, with an innocence and wonder not found in the older treatments. She also sings with command and no little drama. It is a full-bodied vocal performance. Kriss introduces and solos effectively, providing a more conversational approach to mesh with Naama’s no nonsense interpretation.

Discography

• Dearly Beloved (Cellar Music Group, 2020)

• If I knew Then (Self Produced, 2022)

• Where Flamingos Fly (La Reserve Records, 2023)

• Wild Is Love (La Reserve Records, 2024)