Happy Friday,

I’m on the other side of the recording sessions of last week and I’m almost at a loss for words. I’ll have more thoughts and pictures and stories to share in weeks to come!

In the meantime, I will be singing with the Ted Nash Big Band at Dizzy’s on June 2nd. They’re playing music of the 20’s and 30’s, and I’ll be singing a Kurt Weill song that is one of the most significant of the 20th century(!). I hope you’ll come – it’s going to be a great night.

Onto the pairing….!

Juice

People who truly love wine, love to wander – even if it’s just around a wine list.

Recently, at Justine’s in the West Village, I could not resist a rarely seen Swiss section of the list, especially one priced so tantalizingly.

Amigne de Vétroz is an ancient white grape native to the Valais region of Switzerland. Winemaker Fabienne Cottagnoud of Cave des Tilleuls produced this particular variety with panache in this stunning 2015 vintage. Wine takes us on journeys through continents and countries, and time itself. This bottle retains some of the charms of youth and the balance is in the maturity and presence of age.

Candied pineapple and fragrant, couldn’t-be-riper honeydew melon swirl on the palate, while a shimmering ribbon of acidity brings it all to a pleasingly pithy dry finish. Served at a perfectly not-too-chilled temperature, it continued to relax and blossom in the glass – a window into another time, a winemaker’s talent, and the fruits of vertiginous landscapes yet unseen.

Jazz

I heard this song for the first time the other night (by a singer I’ll surely feature soon) and was captivated. My Portuguese is lacking, yet one word I did understand was the second in the title “Coração Vagabundo” – and a vagabond spirit of yearning infused the song and me in the hearing of it.

Written by Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso and sung by the same, it is performed here with transparency and ease which is easy to take for granted as a listener. Achieving this level of intimacy as a singer and songwriter is truly a feat of courage and vulnerability. The song trembles as a leaf in the wind – flutes and strings on the track add to its delicacy.

The vagabonds of love, art, or pleasure are after something more than a picture or a story. As the song says:

My vagabond heart

Wants to keep the world in me​
​

Coração Vagabundo Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso PREVIEW   ​

Have a great week.

Truly,

Kristen

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