PATRICE WILLIAMSON
Free to Dream (River Lily)

Carefully...

"Free to Dream is the second recording by vocalist Patrice Williamson. The thirtysomething Memphis native follows up her 1998 debut, My Shining Hour with a contemporary collection of originals and standards accented with intelligence and pathos, both in choice and performance. Her originals are epistles of spirituality and self-actualization and they swing, albeit with a humid momentum.

Ms. Williamson has a beautiful low alto voice that could be likened to a smooth single-malt scotch with the hint of a breathless backdraft. This is a voice that is well suited to the more inventive interpretations on the disc like "The Sound of Music Suite" (dedicated to her late father) and Bud Powell's "Celia" (sung in a precision-point scat). Ms. Williamson also contributes her flute to "Gentle Rain" and "Putting on the Ritz." An enjoyable vocal outing."

–C. Michael Bailey
AllAboutJazz.com

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