3.29.2024

Happy Friday!

Welcome to those new to the fold that I met singing on the sunny shores of the California! (I'll post photos from the trip to my Insta this coming week.)

I'm thrilled to be singing with the Ted Nash Big Band at Dizzy's on Monday night, performing the only song with words on his incredible "Portrait in Seven Shades" suite. You can find tickets here.

On to the pairing!

Juice

Great traditions come truly alive only through those who animate them with spirit, courage and respect. When a legacy of technique is embraced with fearless zeal, something magical happens.

Materne & Schmitt is a two-woman winemaking team who bring immense care and joy to their stunning wines with rigor and spontaneity. Their “Wunschkind” Riesling 2021 has everything I love about wines from this part of Germany — etched minerality (you can taste the slate), brisk acidity and clarion fruit. You can’t help but notice it’s effusive in a way that goes beyond just being correct.

This is dry riesling (say it with me, "riesling can be dry!") as are all the bottlings from this producer. I hope you can find them, but if not, look for something from the Mosel with "trocken" (dry) on the label.

Jazz

Catherine Russell comes from a deep musical tradition both in her familial legacy and her own storied career. But pedigree isn’t what brings people out to hear her: it’s her ebullience, vim and verve that infuses everything she does.

“You Can’t Pull the Wool Over My Eyes” is a ditty from 1936 that crackles with energy in Russell’s 2021 Dot Time recording “Alone Together." Her crisp, decisive delivery gives everything the song needs with no excess — and the discipline of her approach only gives it more sparkle.

Traditional jazz in lesser hands can be staid, even hokey. Riesling that’s overly sweet from eras past has turned people away from the entire grape. Lucky for us, tradition is alive and well in stunning style here, and it is exhilarating to hear and taste.

*it so happens you can hear Ms. Russell tonight & tomorrow at Jazz @ Lincoln Center if you’re in NYC.