Lauren Kinhan

4 STARS!!!
Kinhan certainly might have had an easier path to solo success had she chosen to sing the usual Great American Songbook standards or vocalese. On Circle in a Square, like the last two, she sings her own idiosyncratic tunes, which defy category and overflow with surprising turns of phrase and melody. She now makes a decisive, ambitious turn toward pur jazz, married to personal, often impressionistic lyrcs.
Once again she has assembled a crackerjack rhythm section (Andy Ezrin, Ben Wittman and bassists Will Lee and David Finck) and formidable guests including McCaslin, Lubambo, trumpeter Randy Brecker and saxophonist Joel Frahm, who each contribute to two songs; as well as impressive solos by guitarist Chuck Loeb and accordionist Gary Versace, who supplies the spice on the disc's sexy tango, "Chaussure's Complex" (it has something to do with shoes). Kinhan executes the most intricate passages flawlessly, whether jumping octaves at high speed on "Vanity's Paramour" or romping through the bebop changes of "Bear Walk." "The Deep Within," a tone poem of spiritual yearning, is a stunner. - Allen Morrison

"Kinhan has never shone brighter."

Lauren Kinhan is, as both a longstanding member of New York Voices and a solo artist, a tremendously gifted jazz singer. The added advantage of Kinhan's individual releases is that they showcase her estimable songwriting dexterity. On her third solo album, working wtih keyboardist Andy Ezrin, drummer Ben Wittman and alternating bassists David Finck and Will Lee, Kinhan delivers a dozen striking originals, several featuring top-tier guests.
She opens with the free-floating title track, a joyous reconfirmation that music is the food of love, dually propelled by trumpeter Randy Brecker and saxophonist Ada Rovatti. Brecker returns, partnered with Japanese guitarist Jiro Yoshida, for the loose, ambling "Bear Walk." The soulful, torch-lit "Another Hill to Climb" is gently dusted by a Sara Caswell-led string quartet, while the charring, wordless "Chasing the Sun" pairs Kinhan with Brazilian guitar master Romero Lubambo. Organist Gary Versace adds sizzle to the smoldering tango "Chaussure's Complex," and New York Voices compatriot Peter Eldridge joins her, not on vocals but as co writer and pianist, for "The Deep Within," a poetic meditation on the resiliancy of even the most battered heart.
Chief among the assembled talent is, however, deftly intuitive producer Elliot Scheiner, celebrated for his work with Sting, Paul Simon and Steely Dan. In his expert hands, Kinhan has never shone brighter. - Christopher Loudon

"...four original songs, of which my favorite is As We Live and Breathe, co-written by Lauren Kinhan and Eve Nelson, with Lauren singing the lead vocal radiantly against a lovely background. - Tony Augarde