BWW CD Review: Fleur Seule VIA CON DIOS Relaxes, Refreshes and Rejuvenates.

It is apropos that the opening track on the VAYA CON DIOS album is the Carpenters classic "Top of the World" because it will be difficult to feel like you are anywhere else while listening to the new (and sixth) CD from Fleur Seule. One of Manhattan's most popular music acts, Fleur Seule is a joyful musical Jack of All Trades (or, if one prefers, Jane of All Trades). If Googled, Fleur Seule is described as a jazz act but the band was nominated as a swing act in the recent Broadway World audience awards. Previous albums focus on standards, swing, holiday music... but it doesn't matter what label anyone attempts to assign to the Fleur Seule brand: all that matters is that Fleur Seule is making music and that it is acknowledged that the music is good.

Now is the time for some clarity on a topic that has eluded this writer for a while now: what is Fleur Seule? The leader and frontwoman, Allyson Briggs is well known and well respected in the cabaret and club community, so there stands the question - Is Fleur Seule a persona she adopts when she gets into her eye-catching vintage fashions? Is Fleur Seule a character, a nickname, the appellation of the entire band as a unit? Not one for guessing, I wrote to Allyson Briggs with the blunt question and, for the benefit of fans old and new who were wondering the same thing, Allyson's answer was, "It's kind of both! The group is called Fleur Seule, but it really refers to me, as most people call me that." So, embracing the Sugerpuss O'Shea of it all, let us all call the blonde bombshell at the microphone Fleur.

Now, onto the business of Vaya Con Dios: this lovely nine-track album is just what we all need right now. It's been a heck of a year with a lot of stress and unhappiness, and Vaya Con Dios is a tonic for all the tension. Fleur Seule has taken three musical ingredients and melded them into a CD of relaxing, playful, tuneful, beatitude. Those ingredients are chart-topping pop and country songs from the past, compositions performed in their original luxurious Latin lyrics, and original tunes with music and lyrics by Fleur Seule herself. Yeah, that's right. Renaissance woman, anyone? All nine tracks are filled with the Sabor de Vida South of The Border (frankly, North of the Border, too - take it from this native Texan) and it's working for Fleur and for the album.

While busily keeping the music of the past alive, Fleur Seule has had a primary focus on songs like "Moonlight Serenade" and "Misty" but there is definitely good reason to have her singing these country and Latin tunes - they fit her velvety voice to perfection. You wouldn't expect a jazz singer to sidestep, with such ease, into the twangy aesthetic of country music - the Latin tracks, yes, because every jazz singer has done "Besame Mucho" at least once and has a handle on tunes like "Vaya Con Dios." But Fleur Seul slips into songs by Roy Orbison and Dolly Parton as easily as slipping on a pair of vintage Winklepickers, and there is no shadow cast over these recordings by the more famous versions because these recordings don't just pay homage to the original artists, they tribute Fleur Seule's unique style and sound. Everybody should get to sing "I Will Always Love You" at least once, and, here, listeners get to have Dolly, Whitney, AND Fleur with them all at once, with similar experiences to be had on all the covers, especially those originated by Karen Carpenter, for whom Fleur has a natural affinity.

It was a keen move on Fleur's part, placing all of her original compositions between the famous ones, like a meticulously planned nine-course dinner party presenting guests with a dish they know and one they don't, all the new offerings serving surprising, exciting portions of the evening. Refreshing and thoroughly palatable, all four of the Fleur Seule/Allyson Briggs compositions are country and Latin music in the classic tradition, with two numbers landing on the country side of the tracks and two covering Latin ground. Indeed, two of Fleur's self-made cuts are the album standouts - the sensuous and dreamy "Aventura Typical" and the whimsical boot-scooter "You Got Me" - but among the covers, the band steps way out of the box with arranger Andy Warren's reimagined "Goodbye to Love", which may shock some at first but one deep breath and a leap of faith will bring the Carpenters fans around, and once they get what the entire Fleur Seule team is doing with the classic, they will approve.

The true fact of the matter is that anyone who appreciates good music should approve of this album, whether country-Latin fusion is their thing or not, because when Fleur Seule opens her mouth to sing, when that sound hits the atmosphere and when it hits your heart, you too will be on top of the world, and you may trust me on that.

Fleur Seule VAYA CON DIOS is a 2021 release on the Fleur Seule label. It is available on all digital platforms and at the Fleur Seule website HERE

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