Svetlana - "Cute"
Dr. Shmulyian will see you now...but don't call her Doctor; call her SVETLANA.
The name Svetlana is a Slavic feminine given name meaning “light.” That is most appropriate for our Svetlana. When reviewing her 2016 release, Night at the Speakeasy, I noted that, “The name Svetlana and the Delancey Five sounds like a Cold War cadre of marauding spies,” with me wondering when James Jesus Angleton would show up. While the singer keeps a vestige of that romantic image, she has become a fine interpreter of Tin Pan Alley and the Great American Songbook.
Svetlana has thoughtfully been releasing singles from her upcoming Live in Savannah, slated for release in the fall of 2026. In anticipation, Svetlana has released the singles: “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” and a boffo “Tea for Two.” the singer is now releasing her third single ahead of the new album, a sophisticated rendering of Neal Hefti’s “Cute.” Originally released on the 1958 Roulette recording, Basie Plays Hefti, the song is a mini-concerto for a drum kit played with brushes. Drummer Robert Boon Jr. presents quite the master’s class on the method. The singer delivers a crisp first verse that is followed by a chorus of Al Strong’s tart muted trumpet, followed by an ensemble figure with saxophonist Rahsaan Barber before winding into the coda verse; the entire aural sculpture delivered in 2:07 minutes.
Svetlana and this very special band recorded several pieces during her 2023 Fall residency at the Jazz Corner Club in Hilton Head, the singer and her band, including pianist Willerm Delisfort, bassist Kevin Smith, besides the aforementioned Boon, Strong, and Barber. recorded several songs later slated for release. The singer is quite partial to this lineup, having appeared with them at three of her five pilgrimages to Hilton Head. The singer and band gelled into a solid team, achieving that sound the singer had in her head. For the length of her residence, Svetlana drove from Hilton Head to Savannah, where she sought a recording studio.
