For their album The Late Set (Anzic Records), vocalist Hilary Gardner and Israeli native Ehud Asherie on piano combine their sublime talents on nine songs that evoke a smoky piano bar in the early 20th century. Asherie — called “a master of swing and stride” by The New Yorker — provides lyrical and playful support to Gardner’s vocals, which are in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. The album includes well known standards — “Sweet and Low,” “After You’ve Gone” and “Make Someone Happy,” along with seldom heard numbers, such as the lovely “A Ship Without a Sail,” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Gardner and Asherie transport the listener on gossamer wings to a mellow place with this delightful album. — Mordecai Specktor
(American Jewish World, 12.29.17)
