Sharon Marie Cline: “This Is Where I Wanna Be” (2014) CD Review

Sharon Marie Cline is a jazz vocalist originally from Jacksonville, Florida, and now based in Los Angeles. In 2014, she released This Is Where I Wanna Be, a wonderful album featuring mostly standards but also a couple of original numbers. These tracks were arranged by Rich Eames, Sharon Marie Cline and Jon Stuart. Rich Eames also plays piano and keyboards on all the tracks, while Jon Stuart plays drums and percussion on most tracks. Sharon Marie Cline is also joined by several other talented musicians on various tracks.

With the album’s first song, “Love Dance,” we enter a romantic dream world of “silent touches, sweet touches.” Sharon Marie Cline’s voice is smooth and loving, a wonderful guide into a better place. And once we are there, her vocal approach becomes more passionate, with greater peaks and valleys, delivered over a good rhythm. I particularly like Adam Cohen’s work on bass. Toward the end, there is a wonderful lead on piano that has its own magic. Things then get brighter with her rendition of “Happy Talk,” a song written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the musical South Pacific. And of course, this song addresses dreams with its famous lines, “You’ve got to have a dream/If you don’t have a dream/How you gonna have a dream come true?” Lee Thornberg’s work on trumpet really stands out here. Excellent stuff, particularly during that great instrumental section. Luther Hughes and Peter Buck keep things moving on bass and drums respectively.

“Sugar On My Lips” establishes a very cool atmosphere with that opening on guitar, bass and percussion. Jacques Lesure plays guitar on this one, and Trevor Ware is on bass. And when Sharon Marie Cline comes in, her vocals have a deliciously seductive appeal. “But I can’t help helping myself/Tasting your taste in tiny sips/Mm, baby, you’re like sugar on my lips.” This is one of the album’s best tracks. It is an original number, with music by Rich Eames and Sharon Marie Cline, and lyrics by Mark Winkler and Sharon Marie Cline. Rich Eames plays organ on this track, and Victor Orlando is on percussion. “When we’re close and the room is dark/Kiss me baby, drive me crazy/I like this part.” I love the way she delivers those lines, the way she spaces out “I like this part,” like she is completely caught up in the moment so that she is almost out of breath. This is an incredibly cool, sexy song. Then Ryan Cross joins Sharon Marie Cline on cello for her cover of Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter In The Rain,” and Reinhold Schwarzwald plays saxophone, and those two instruments are what make this rendition really work. I love that moment when Sharon Marie Cline’s voice soars, the saxophone joining her and then moving into its own lead section. That is a beautiful moment. She makes this song something special. “I love those rainy days” is a line I can get behind now that I live in Los Angeles, but when I was residing in Oregon, well, enough is enough.

“I Wanna Be Loved” begins with some pretty work on piano, and then Sharon Marie Cline’s vocals have an intimate quality when she comes in. “I want to be kissed until I tingle.” Oh, the way she delivers that line, you’ll be tingling as you listen. This track features a wonderful lead on piano, plus some really nice work on bass. That’s followed by the album’s title track, “This Is Where I Wanna Be,” which is also the album’s other original composition, with music by Rich Eames and lyrics by Sharon Marie Cline. It has a gentle bossa nova vibe, and creates a dreamy atmosphere. “This is where I wanna be/Here with you so close to me/Caressed by nature’s sweet, sweet splendor/In your arms, so strong and tender.” Ah yes, when we are alone with that special someone by the ocean, it is like life is a beautiful dream. And as she sings here, we want to “cast away reality.” Adding to that atmosphere is some wonderful work by Rob Hardt on flute. John Belzaguy plays bass on this track, giving the dream a solid base. Continuing the dream theme, Sharon Marie Cline follows that song with a cover of “If Dreams Come True,” with Bram Glik on saxophone. “In your caress/I find happiness,” she sings, and the saxophone seems to agree with her. There is a sort of calm, relaxed joy in the delivery. I also like the percussion on this track, as well as that bass line.

Sharon Marie Cline delivers a gorgeous vocal performance on “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” commanding our attention from those opening moments. This version then takes on an interesting rhythm, and features some cool work on guitar by Jacques Lesure. That’s followed by “Why Can’t You Behave,” a song written by Cole Porter for the musical Kiss Me, Kate. Sharon Marie Cline gives another delicious vocal performance, particularly as she delivers the song’s title line. This track also has a catchy bass line and some nice work on piano. Then “How Long Has This Been Going On” opens with some good work on piano. I’ve said it many times, but you can never go wrong with Gershwin. And here Sharon Marie Cline gives us an excellent rendition of the song from the musical Funny Face. “Kiss me once, then once more/What a dunce I was before.” Things then get hopping with “‘Deed I Do.” There is a good amount of joy in her delivery and in the playing, particularly that bass line and that fun piano part. The album concludes with Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars,” Sharon Marie Cline returning to a gentle bossa nova vibe and giving another beautiful vocal performance.

CD Track List

1. Love Dance
2. Happy Talk
3. Sugar On My Lips
4. Laughter In The Rain
5. I Wanna Be Loved
6. This Is Where I Wanna Be
7. If Dreams Come True
8. You Don’t Know What Love Is
9. Why Can’t You Behave
10. How Long Has This Been Going On
11. ‘Deed I Do
12. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars

This Is Where I Wanna Be was released on March 25, 2014.