Album Review: "The Gathering" by Amber Weekes (9/10)

Distributed by: Amber Inn Productions

Producer: Mark Cargill

On one of this year’s most imaginatively arranged and produced seasonal offerings, renowned soul/jazz vocalist Amber Weekes brings her mix of charming, playful wit and dreamy, inviting sensuality to a set featuring fresh twists on classics we love (and thought we had heard every possible variation of); a sparkly holiday treatment of a Rodgers & Hart romance (“My Romance”) and a soulful, uplifting original title track that celebrates families and children with a kids choir and lush violin solo by the project’s producer/arranger Mark Cargill. True to its title, The Gathering is a showcase for some of Los Angeles’ greatest jazz talents.