Gunhild Carling: “Jazz Is My Lifestyle” (2024) CD Review

This is a stressful and frightening time in this country, and especially right now here in Los Angeles, with fires blazing all around. I decided I needed a break from following the progress of the fires, and turned to the music of Gunhild Carling, an incredible singer and musician whose work is full of joy, something we are in great need of. Her latest release, Jazz Is My Lifestyle, is a big band album, along with strings by The Prague String Chamber Orchestra. There is a great old-time flavor to these tracks, and yet these songs are original compositions by Gunhild Carling. So, yeah, in addition to being a talented singer and musician (she plays multiple instruments, including trumpet, trombone, harp, flute, recorder, harmonica, ukulele and theremin – holy moly!), she is also a wonderful songwriter.

She opens the album with its title track, “Jazz Is My Lifestyle,” and immediately we are in a better place, a dance hall in the New Orleans of yesteryear for those opening moments. I love that trombone! Soon the song settles into the big band realm, and Gunhild Carling’s delightful vocals come in. “Yeah, the syncopated beat is taking over my feet/So live the jazzy life along with me.” Now that is an invitation I won’t turn down. Gunhild welcomes us to a better world with this music, a world of dancing, of fun, of bright lights, of cheer and romance. “So come on and jazz up your life with me,” she sings during the song’s big finish. Then the drums at the beginning of “Shaking The Bangkok” get us moving, tell us it’s time to cut loose, to let go, and let the music take over completely. So cool, and so sexy, this song. I’m digging that work on piano. “Oh, move your hips and shout, we’re doing it now.” There is a delicious playfulness to her delivery, and her vocal performance is a main draw of this fantastic track. What a character! And the horns have plenty to say too, all of it things we want so desperately to hear.

The music shifts direction with “I Desire You,” a more intimate, romantic number. “You came back, sweet romance, you came back to me/So now let’s dance in the dark/And stroll through the park/Because it’s heaven for you and me.” The song then builds, the horns unable to hold back their own excitement and joy. That leads to a pretty lead on piano. A bright, welcoming sound opens “Your Smile Makes The Difference.” And yes, the smile of that special person can make all the difference, can’t it? That’s something to keep in mind. “So happy around you/So happy I found you.” And the horns are like graceful, loving dance partners. And speaking of dancing, Gunhild Carling follows “Your Smile Makes The Difference” with “Fire Alarm,” a fast-paced and totally delicious number guaranteed to get you moving, get you shaking. You’d think a fire alarm would be the last thing I’d want to hear today, but this song is fantastic. For its first half or so, it’s an instrumental number, and then when Gunhild comes in on vocals, the joy somehow increases. This is great fun, and there is even a short drum solo.

We then enter a mellower and magical realm with “Chanson,” the harp ushering us inside, and helping to create a special atmosphere. There is an ease within, and there is certainly romance. And is that the trombone taking us to heavenly heights? So many of these songs are like invitations to wonderful places, as is “Mardi Gras Blues.” “Just follow me” are the first words of that song. You can follow her voice, you can follow her trumpet, you can follow her harmonica, you can follow her recorder. Or you can follow the other musicians. All will lead you to a joyous place. Gunhild Carling then takes us into a cool, bluesy land with “Cosmic Drive.” “Let’s take a trip to Venus,” she suggests here. Yes, I get the feeling she can take us just about any place she wishes. And to aid us on this particular journey, she plays theremin. Seems just about right, doesn’t it?

“Winter’s Day” is a pretty number, and as she sings, “It’s so enchanting,” we ourselves are enchanted by her voice. This is a warm, romantic song, and it features some really nice work on trumpet. This is a dream I just want to wrap myself in. It’s followed by “You Are The Music,” a love song in which she sings, “You’re every book that I read/Every page, indeed, you’re every chapter.” We can hear the great affection in her voice. “You’re simply too good to be true/So adore you is all I can do/You’re my inspiration, you’re a sensation/The music is you.” Gunhild Carling wraps up the album with “I’ll Wait For You In San Francisco,” which has a dramatic opening, like a play or film. It then relaxes so that the focus is entirely on her voice for those first several lines. It then builds from there, and features the vocalist on ukulele as well as trumpet. It’s a wonderful conclusion to an album that gave me the best moments of the last few days.

CD Track List

1. Jazz Is My Lifestyle
2. Shaking The Bangkok
3. I Desire You
4. Your Smile Makes The Difference
5. Fire Alarm
6. Chanson
7. Mardi Gras Blues
8. Cosmic Drive
9. Winter’s Day
10. You Are The Music
11. I’ll Wait For You In San Francisco

Jazz Is My Lifestyle was released on September 1, 2024.