Juliet Kelly sings “I’ve got a secret, I’m gonna share it” on the album’s opener Secret. Right now Juliet Kelly and her music may be the biggest secret to most jazz listeners, not to readers of this website of course. They will remember my interview with Juliet and my review for her debut album in which I’ve predicted that “Aphrodite’s Child really sounds like a very promising start.” Well, I wasn’t wrong. Juliet’s sophomore album Delicious Chemistry shows her growth as singer and songwriter and sees her surpassing herself. Delicious Chemistry has a more coherent sound and feeling than its predecessor. While Aphrodite’s Child includes two cover versions Juliet relies solely on her own strength as songwriter this time and recorded eleven original compositions. Plus she replaced the piano in the classic jazz trio setting of piano, bass and drums, she used on her debut, with Carl Orr on guitar and included much more guest musicians than on her debut. Thus Delicious Chemistry broadens the boundaries of jazz music with its earthier and sometimes folksy sound which fits perfectly to Juliet’s rich voice and her introspective and at times sad lyrics. While Aphrodite’s Child saw Juliet celebrating the joy of love on songs like Love Can Change Your Life or When You Believe In Love this time we hear her reflecting on the dark and bitter side of love. The title track, Delicious Chemistry, finds her yearning for someone who’s a little bit reluctant to commit to her. The bowed bass by regular band member Tom Barlow emphazises the longing to good effect.
One of my favourite song is Alone Again, a song which finds Juliet lamenting about being left alone and trying to get her life back on track (”Alone again/ Waking each morning/ When the cold hand of fear grabs and twists you inside/ This pain will end, Someday there’ll be laughter again“). Listen carefully to Roger Beaujolais’ fine performance on vibes here.
Another musically and lyrically deep song comes with Searching For Clues, a great song with Kate Williams on piano and Omar Puente on violin, that sees Juliet questioning her life so far and looking for a meaning (”It’s been so long since my direction was clear/ Now all the signs disappeared/ Right at the start, felt I was guided/ But now it’s dark, Blue skies have turned to grey/ When will I truly fins my way“).
Letting You Go seems like the sequel to Delicious Chemistry with Juliet’s discarding the longed-for-lover she has waited for too long. Seb Rochford’s drum solo corresponds flawlessly to the vocalist’s inner strife on this track.
There’s also Juliet’s look on the spiritual side of life on the slow and soulful Unicorn Dreams or Parallel Universe.
Maybe the most traditional jazz song on this album is Juliet’s tribute to the late Nina Simone, Black Rose, which features Omar Puente on violin and Courtney Pine on saxophone.
Actually all eleven songs on offer are stunning and Juliet’s singing is always heartfelt and inspiring. In a nutshell Delicious Chemistry is one of the most innovative, personal and moving jazz records I have heard in ages.

Tracklisting of Delicious Chemistry: 1. Secret/ 2. Delicious Chemistry/ 3. I Wish You Love/ 4. Unicorn Dream/ 5. Alone Again/ 6. Behind Her Smile/ 7. Parallel Universe/ 8. Searching For Clues/ 9. Letting You Go/ 10. Guardian Angel/ 11. Black Rose | released 2005 Chantiko/Juliet Kelly

For more infos visit julietkelly.com and cdbaby.com.

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