Sydney vocalist and pianist Bonnie J Jensen retains most of the quality jazz players in this septet from her previous two albums. She's composed three tracks, collaborated on arrangements and plays accompanying piano on several. There are standards, some unusual vocal pieces and one down-home blues number, "Ain't No Use".
Her style is nightclub chanteuse, drawing on many influences, sounding sometimes reminiscent of Renee Geyer, at others [times] traces of Peggy Lee or Sarah Vaughan emerge.
Soloists have adequate space: saxophonist Craig Walters contributes sympathetically, Jeremy Sawkins delivers effortless guitar and Miroslav Bukovsky's broad-toned trumpet is super-heated on "A Night in Tunisia", a challenging vocal piece, cleverly arranged with unusual variations. Jensen's title ballad, an original, displays a talent for both musical composition and poetic lyrics, evident too on "Neon Soliloquy": "Like a diamond in the river, as precious as African rain, this glimpse of bliss will sustain you - again and again."

John McBeath, The Australian


A Pacific Princess Returns
It’s always a pleasure to welcome a real jazz talent back in town, and Tuesday sees the return of Bonnie J Jensen ….
Born in New Zealand, but now well established on the jazz scene in Australia and Japan, Jensen managed the difficult trick during her last residency [in Hong Kong] of creating the intimacy of a small club performance in a vast harbour-view lounge. Rather than admiring the lights, people headed over to the piano to listen to her sing.
In the course of three months, she built up a remarkable rapport with the local musicians hired to back her and they have been re-engaged for this booking.
Jensen’s repertoire last time consisted of a mixture of standards, pop and rock tunes given a jazzier twist, and a few of her own originals. Some had been recorded on her first two albums, Lucky So & So and Blue Joy and these have now been joined on the CD racks by a third album on the LaBrava label, The Sapphire Tree.
Pianist Alister Spence, who also handles Fender Rhodes and organ, contributes a fine solo to a version of U2’s I still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, but Jensen takes over the keyboard for one of the better jazz-inflected cover versions of Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing I’ve heard in recent years, for two of her originals and for the late Irish songwriter Noel Brazil’s Columbus. The best-known version of the tune was previously Mary Black’s.
As always with Jensen, it’s an interesting set of interpretations that pays due respect to heritage in the choice of standards and compositions by jazz musicians, but breaks them up with contemporary composition.
Her phrasing on The Sapphire Tree puts me in mind of Joni Mitchell rather than Diana Krall, with whom she tends to be compared, and she digs down deep into the blues for Aeroblue.
Her record label’s press release states another other original, Neon Soliloquy, is reminiscent of Miles Davis’ soundtrack for Louis Malle’s film Ascenseur pour L’Echaffaud. It features a muted trumpet played by Miroslav Bukovsky, which was one of Davis’ signature sounds. It also reminds me of Mitchell during her jazz period, performing songs such as Furry Sings the Blues.
The straight-ahead jazz tunes are well chosen. Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisia, when Jon Hendricks’ lyrics, is a vocal tour de force and an instrumental one for the band. Night and Day and Angel Eyes are tastefully interpreted and she revisits her bluesy side with Ain’t No Use, which features some effective guitar from Jeremy Sawkins.
The album concludes with Lead The Way, written by drummer Brian Blade, who has works with luminaries including Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Chick Corea.
Jensen is backed by an all-star lineup of Australian jazz musicians: Miroslav Bukovsky - trumpet and horn arrangements, Alistair Spence - piano and keyboards, Jeremy Sawkins - guitar, Craig Walters - saxophone, Jonathan Zwartz - bass and Fabian Hevia - drums and percussion."

Robin Lyman, South China Post