Why Should Your Heart Not Dance

A mixture of improvisatory jazz and folk traditions, with clever vocal harmony and counterpoint, Asaran Earth Trio are three female singers – Astrid, Artemisz and Anne (hence ‘Asaran’) – who met in New York but originate from Croatia, Hungary and Brazil respectively. They perform their spectacular harmonies and scatting with percussive rhythm accompaniment. The disc starts with a highly commercial and jaunty scat version of the jazz standard ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ before moving on to some traditional laments and love songs from around the world, including a couple in English. Some of their improvisations are wild and frantic, which is clearly part of the attraction, particularly in their live performances.
However, on record some of the experimental novelty is slightly less appealing than their more serious vocal harmonisation, which is at times beautifully melancholic. When they sing traditional songs these women demonstrate their real vocal prowess. This intriguing music comes with song lyrics, explanations, English translations, and some nice artwork packaged in a charming, organic, recycled cardboard sleeve.