Happy Friday,

It’s a few days before recording. In addition to writing to you, it’s a lot of fine tuning and prepping of all kinds. Listening to this week’s singer has been a pleasurable part of my work -- and I know you’ll enjoy it too. (I’ll justify the wine as prep in good time.:))

Juice

Does ubiquity make something less valuable? Rarity is oftentimes coupled with worth for good reason, but just because something is easy to find (or grow) doesn’t make it any less great.

Chardonnay is a grape that vignerons call vigorous – it successfully grows just about anywhere, contributing to its popularity, yet not diminishing its finest examples.

If chardonnay is familiar to you, I can bet that chardonnay from Argentina is not (or at least, it wasn’t to me). The Finca Suarez ‘24 chardonnay from Paraje Altamira is made from a producer with generations of legacy on the land and massive contributions to Argentine winemaking, dating back to the 1920s.

This bottle is refreshing in the way it opens up space on the palate – It feels like a cirrus cloud in the mouth – broad yet vaporous, misty and expansive. There’s a prickle to the nectarine fruit, and a meringuey quality that lifts the wine. It is slightly hazy to the eye, but never has a wine come across with more clarity.

Jazz

The song “It Had to Be You” by Isham Jones and Gus Kahn, has been around since 1924. it's one of those ditties that feels like it’s simply in the water – we all know it; yet I for one have never thought about it too much, despite having heard versions from voices running the gamut from Daffy Duck to Ray Charles.

Shirley Horn is one of the most essential jazz singers, period. She also accompanies herself on the piano, which is astonishing given how incredible she is at both. Her economy, grace, and sensitivity are unparalleled – actually to be verbose about her contribution feels at odds with her art. So how about this:

Shirley

Is

Poetry.

Her rendition of “It Had to Be You” from “You Won’t Forget Me” (Verve, 1991) is a study in spaciousness. In her hands, it is a song not so much about affection as destiny. She knows exactly what she is doing and has such trust in the music it becomes a spell, made all the more enthralling by Branford Marsalis’ tenor. When she sings the last “it had to be you” it’s not even a question: you are hers.

This track should come with a warning label – I’ll let you decide what for.
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It Had To Be You Shirley Horn PREVIEW   ​

See you in two weeks!

Truly,

Kristen

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