Review: Inga Swearingen and Ron McCarley
-by Kathryn Stockbridge
THE INCOMPARABLE INGA!
The SB Jazz Society members always look forward to a performance by the talented and engaging Inga Swearingen, and at our concert on October they were not disappointed.
She started the program with several songs from her new CD entitled ‘First Rain’. This album ventures into new territory while staking a claim on what she knows best, music and song rooted in family, nature, love and the human spirit.
Inga was joined by her outstanding band members Jeff Miley on guitar, Dylan Johnson on bass, Darrell Vos on drums, her sister Britta Swearingen, vocal harmony and percussion and was joined for the afternoon by Santa Barbara’s own Ron McCarley on sax and flute.
Inga started early in the afternoon with an interpretive rendition of “Beautiful Love” with Ron McCarley on the sax. This was followed by two songs from the new CD, “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” interestingly done as a bossa nova and another song entitled ” April Afternoon” which she composed.
She then “married” two Johnny Mercer tunes ” I remember You” and “And The Angels Sing” with harmony by her sister Britta. She again “married ” two more songs, the first a Johnny Mercer tune entitled “Summer Wind” and combined it with another one of her compositions entitled “Indian Summer”. She also sang another of her compositions “Brick by Brick” which is also on the CD. She also sang a beautiful rendition of “The Sound of Music” with Ron on the flute and my personal favorite “Heart and Soul”.
After the audience wanted an encore, she came back on stage and sang “Blackbird” and had the audience participate. She has developed quite a following here in Santa Barbara and always leaves her audiences wanting more!