Acclaimed UK jazz stylist ZARA McFARLANE has just released a new album – ‘Sweet Whispers’. The set, Ms Mc’s fourth LP, is a celebration of the work of Sarah Vaughan – one of Zara’s musical heroes and it’s no coincidence that 2024 is Ms Vaughan’s centenary year.
To mark the album’s release, Zara and her team have released one of the focus cuts as a standalone single. It’s a laid back, languid, emotional, innovative cover of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Inner City Blues’. It’s what all proper covers should be – different! The Vaughan connection, by the way, is the fact that in 1972, the jazz icon recorded the song for her comeback album, ‘A Time In My Life’.
‘Inner City Blues’ resonated when it was first released in 1971 and Sarah Vaughan’s version underlined its importance. The song’s message and sentiments are just as relevant and meaningful today and Ms Mc Farlane’s contemporary reading underlines the message in the music! Maybe some of those politicians angling for our votes should take a listen!
