Album Review: Opera Diva Regina Zona Joins With Guitar Star Sean Harkness For Some Holiday Cheer On Their New CD IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, Bobby Patrick, your rainbow reviewer is back in CD-Land to bring you another broken-down breakdown of a new music release. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week's album entry in the BobbyFiles comes from a lady who is a bonafide opera diva. Regina Zona has made a career singing on concert stages and in performance halls the world over, with an extensive repertoire that stretches from Verdi to Strauss to Mozart - you know, all the old dead guys... So what else was there for a singer who has done everything to do? Why, record a Christmas album, of course, and she has done so with grace and charm and Sean Harkness.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE brings together this lady and the most sought-after guitar player in our fair Gotham. These two unlikely partners make a surprisingly good pairing, adding Sean's jazz expertise to Regina's uber-trained voice that, in a most welcoming way, she adjusts to stylings that her classical roots would not hint at. Throughout her career, Zona has received raves for her vocal adaptability and variety in production and tone, a talent that has made her more than what some followers of the cabaret arts might think of when they think of an OPERA SOPRANO. With her much-praised acting chops and her talent in vocal variation, La Zona decided to take on the "less legitimate" (if you will) cabaret venues, and in late 2019, just before the panDAMNIT, she made her nightclub debut with BECOMING ... THE QUEEN 2.0., a shift in her focus, for sure, but a most welcome (and well-reviewed) shift that she has continued since the clubs' mutual reopenings.

Moving from well-worn Christmas songs to religious carols with a gentle and often sweet vocal production, the lady offers up 12 easy-listening cuts on all of the usual suspects, kicking off with SLEIGH RIDE in a bouncy voice that is pretty but approachable, with Harkness' guitar complementing her and her choices, so well, with each phrase. Moving back and forth from sacred to secular, the surprises on this album are in the jazz/pop mixed arrangements on the (sacred) carols. Her second cut, GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN, is a lovely jazz rendition that begins with expert bass playing (either by Raymond Cetta or Michael O'Brien - both share credit on the album cover) that transitions into Sean and his melodious guitar. ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH takes this re-arrangement move even further, with pop beats mixed into jazz stylings that are upbeat, syncopated, fun twists, throughout, and Sean's solo lines, quite frankly, rock. Of all the sacred shake-ups, though, is Regina's mash-up of WHAT CHILD IS THIS? and OH HOLY NIGHT. Now, we know what your little rainbow brains are thinking right now ... This is where Zona zaps us with her full-on opera power - well, think again. This medley of two classic carols has real jazz happening in the instruments and the soft, creamy vocals. The surprise arrangement on OH HOLY... has a rolling beat in the instruments, driven by the drums comes, with Regina choosing to stay on the peaceful side, even in the power section. She's not pushing anything but serving it up delicately with an unresolved chord at the end that truly tantalizes.

With the secular numbers, Zona goes back and forth from the to-be-expected work to mildly re-arranged work, an effect that lifts the listener above the "usual". Mashing up two songs focusing on the theme of home is cut number seven, HOME/I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, which begins with a driving pulse from the instruments, adding to her sultry, longing choices on HOME. Opting to include the not-often-heard opening lines from I'LL BE HOME... made a perfect segue between the two songs from two different eras (HOME - 1931 depression, I'LL BE - 1943 WWII). For I'LL BE HOME..., Seans's playing is some truly superb jazz work that complements Regina's soprano in both of their spot-on musical choices.

The biggest surprise of this album is in the title track, IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE, where Harkness joins Zona VOCALLY. We have heard Sean's amazing music in many shows over the years, here in NYC, but his singing... no... and what a wonderful surprise this was for Little Bobby. It makes sense that a musician of his caliber could do this, but Sean's singing was oh-so-much-more than credible, it was wonderful and awakened the hope that there will be more of it in the future. And Speaking of The Future...

TOMORROW New Yorkers you can catch this duo LIVE singing songs for the holidays at The Triad for the 5 PM Show for the fab price of $25 (Plus Food & Drink Minimums).

Get Tickets: HERE

In all, my lambs, Regina Zona and Sean Harkness's' IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE gives us all some fine easy listening for our holidays. There are new takes on old carols, and straight renditions of jingly classics, all mixed in her voice and his guitar in ways that make this CD one that you can return to year after year, and that makes perfect holiday party background music that will make your guests stop, listen a bit, and ask you, "Who is this?" In short, it's really quite nice and...

This one gets 3 3/4 Out Of 5 Rainbows - Put MISTELTOE in your collection today.

You Can Pick Up The CD From Regina's Webbysite: HERE

You can Add It To Your Spotifies Queue: HERE

The Artists Responsible for IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE Are:

Regina Zona (Vocals)

Sean Harkness (Guitar & Vocals)

Raymond Cetta (Bass)

Michael O'Brien (Bass)

Mike Lunoe (Drums)

Engineered by Ryan Streber

Mastered by Roger Lian

Keep Up With Regina & Sean On Their Webbysites:

www.ReginaZona.com

www.SeanHarkness.com

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