KAT EDMONSON — The Big Picture (2014) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Austin-based singer/songwriter Kat Edmonson has built a cult following around her cherubic, jazz-inflected songs. And while she has always utilized the colorful harmonies and clever lyrical melodies of jazz and American popular song, at her core she's a jazz-influenced pop artist, and this album finds her embracing those sensibilities more than ever. If Edmonson's 2012 sophomore album, Way Down Low, found her moving even further afield from the cabaret jazz of 2009's Take to the Sky, then 2014's The Big Picture reveals another evolution toward an all-original approach to making music. Working with producer Mitchell Froom, Edmonson wrote and/or co-wrote all of the songs on The Big Picture. Froom, no stranger to the art of presenting quirky singer/songwriters, having worked with such similarly inclined artists as Ron Sexsmith, Crowded House, Suzanne Vega, and others, is the perfect collaborator for Edmonson. Here, he frames her lilting, Billie Holiday-meets-Blossom Dearie vocals with the kind of '50s and '60s traditional pop sound that Edmonson lightly flirted with on Way Down Low. However, on The Big Picture the singer truly makes this style her own. There is a charming, vintage vibe to many of the album's tracks, with Froom and Edmonson striking a nice balance between cuts that have a retro, orchestral AM pop sound, such as the swinging ballad "Oh My Love," and a more contemporary folk sound, as on the poignant "All the Way." Elsewhere, Edmonson delves into Ennio Morricone spaghetti Western drama ("You Can't Break My Heart"), breezy '60s lounge music ("Avion"), and Brill Building echo-chamber romanticism ("For Two"). Ultimately, by bringing all of her influences together with Froom's help, Edmonson's own unmistakable sound comes into fine focus on The Big Picture. Matt Collar
Tracklist :
1.    Rainy Day Woman 3:26
Cello – Eric Byers
Double Bass – Ian Walker
Electric Piano – Mitchell Froom
Guitar – Val McCallum
Percussion, Drums – Brian Wolfe 
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Dan Higgins
Trombone, Bass Trombone – Lori Stuntz
Vibraphone – Brad Dutz
Viola – Jonathan Moerschel
Violin – Andrew Bulbrook, Benjamin Jacobson
2.    You Said Enough 2:54
Bass – Davey Faragher
Drums – Michael Urbano
Guitar – Val McCallum
Marimba, Percussion – Chris Lovejoy
Organ – Mitchell Froom
3.    Oh My Love 2:48
Cello – Eric Byers
Double Bass – David Piltch
Drums – Aaron Thurston
Guitar – George Doering
Organ – Mitchell Froom
Vibraphone – Brad Dutz
Viola – Jonathan Moerschel
Violin – Andrew Bulbrook, Benjamin Jacobson
4.    Avion 2:48
Bass – Davey Faragher
Cello – Eric Byers
Chimes – Kat Edmonson
Guitar – Val McCallum
Keyboards – Mitchell Froom
Percussion, Drums – Michael Urbano
Viola – Jonathan Moerschel
Violin – Andrew Bulbrook, Benjamin Jacobson
5.    Crying 3:24
Backing Vocals – Kat Edmonson
Bass – Bob Glaub
Drums – Michael Urbano
Guitar – Val McCallum
Keyboards, Celesta, Glockenspiel – Mitchell Froom
Pedal Steel Guitar – Greg Leisz
Piano – Jeff Young 
6.    All The Way 2:50
Guitar – Steve Elliot, Val McCallum
7.    You Can't Break My Heart 3:49
Cello – Eric Byers
Chimes – Kat Edmonson
Double Bass – Ian Walker
Guitar – Val McCallum
Harmonium – Mitchell Froom
Percussion – Pete Thomas
Viola – Jonathan Moerschel
Violin – Andrew Bulbrook, Benjamin Jacobson
8.    Till We Start To Kiss
Programmed By – David Boucher
Programmed By, Keyboards – Mitchell Froom
9.    The Best 3:27
Bass – Davey Faragher
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Dan Higgins
Drums – Pete Thomas
Guitar, Banjo – Val McCallum
Piano, Electric Piano, Chimes – Mitchell Froom
10.    Dark Cloud 3:27
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Dan Higgins
Drums – Pete Thomas
Guitar – Val McCallum
Piano, Organ, Celesta – Mitchell Froom
11.    For Two 4:25
Double Bass – Ian Walker
Drums – Pete Thomas
Guitar – Steve Elliot, Val McCallum
Piano – Mitchell Froom
12.    Who's Counting 4:01
Bass – Bob Glaub
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Dan Higgins
Drums – Matt Chamberlain
Electric Piano – Mitchell Froom
Guitar – Val McCallum