Jitterbug Vipers
Phoebe’s Dream“When you’re high, there’s nothing else to do but watch your very next breath make its way through the sky,” melts Sarah Sharp in a tranquil vocal haze on “When You’re High,” lulling an ephemerality that seeps through the entirety of Phoebe’s Dream. Featuring nine new originals from the local quartet, the disc mines their smooth and intoxicating Thirties “viper jazz,” while also marking the return of Austin guitar maestro Slim Richey, recovered from last year’s hit-and-run (see “Viper Moon”, April 20, 2012). He enthralls on instrumental homage “Django’s Birthday,” but also the slinky break of “A Viper Just the Same,” accenting Sharp’s breathy vocals atop Francie Meaux Jeaux’s upright bass and Masumi Jones’ easy backbeat. Elizabeth McQueen joins on the ribald “Stuff It” and Jacob Jaeger on the country-ish turn of “That Was Just the Sauce Talking.” Elsewhere, takes on “Billie’s Blues” and “Dangerous” mesmerize. A Dream come true.
This article appears in November 29 • 2013.
