"Is it Love?" by Gail Marten and the Clem Ehoff Trio

a Review by Amy Lotsberg Producer of Collected Sounds

I've said it before; I'm not very well versed in jazz. So don't expect any well-schooled thoughts on this CD. All I can tell you is I like it. It's pleasing. I feel like I'm in a ritzy place with a fine dinner and a frosty martini in front of me (two olives, please).

Gail Marten has a lovely voice and these songs show it off well. The piano playing is fantastic too.

These songs sound older. That is, they sound classic, like something my parents played when I was a kid. But they're new; Gail Marten has written every single one of them. I think it's really a gift when someone can write something (and a group can play it) that takes me back in time. Especially to a time I've never been.

Well, written and expertly performed, this is a lovely jazz album that would be great to play at a dinner or cocktail party. I could pretend that I'm a grown up. (Never mind that I'll be 40 in a month…doesn't mean I'm grown up)

Stand out songs: Is it Love, Lotus Blossom, Her Point Of View though they're really all good. If you like one, it's highly likely you'll like the whole recording.

Posted on August 28, 2005