Last Friday night I went along to St James Theatre to watch Miss-Leading Ladies (My review is available to read here) and was introduced to two very talented people: Ceri Dupree and Ria Jones, a brother and sister who have got a brilliant act together.
Now while I was there, I was completely blown away by Ria’s voice and so purchased her CD to have a listen to.
Have You Met Miss Jones? Features quite a mixture of songs that fans of her vocals will really appreciate. There is a warmth and instant likeableness to her voice that really makes you sit up and pay attention – even if some of the arrangements don’t really work in my mind.
Album opener ‘Le Jazz Hot’ might start off as quite sombre and serious, but then gradually a more playful edge adds more of a liveliness to proceedings and this is something that is reflected throughout the album.
Jones has complete and utter respect for the music that she is performing and this comes through perfectly on songs such as ‘Fever’ and ‘My Funny Valentine’. She understands exactly what she is singing and as you listen to each song you feel like she is singing for you personally.
‘Fever’ is one of my all time favourite songs anyway, but this version seems even more seductive in comparison to any other version that I have heard. Another highlight was a lovely stripped back version of Abba’s Gimme Gimme Gimme, allowing you to really hear and listen to the lyrics it almost seems more powerful than the original version.
I have to say that I wasn’t particularly convinced by the arrangement of ‘Have You Met Miss Jones?’, which seemed to overpower the vocals at times, although it is interesting to hear a female version of the song that I have only heard being sung by male artists.
It is a really strong album and well worth a listen. But if you want to hear her stunning vocals in person then get yourself down to St James Theatre to see Miss-Leading Ladies (it is on until the 30th August). Here is a bit of a preview of the show if you are tempted to go: