A month before her eightieth birthday, Beautiful Love by Rita Reys, the 'éminence grise' of vocal swing, saw the light. This CD, a tribute to her husband Pim Jacobs, who died in 1996 from cancer, can be regarded as the sequel to their legendary LP Marriage In Modern Jazz, which Rita and Pim recorded in 1960 on the occasion of their wedding. This LP gave Reys her first Edison. On Beautiful Love,
… Jacobs' place is taken by Peter Beets, who turns out to be a worthy successor. The rest of the accompaniment is in the expert hands of her brother-in-law Ruud Jacobs (bass) and Bird Award winner Martijn van Iterson (guitar). Despite her advanced age, Reys proves to have lost little of her perfect timing with Beautiful Love. Her voice even sounds remarkably clear on the fourteen jazz standards she has never recorded before. With Beautiful Love, Rita Reys proves that she is not yet finished with her career. (AD)more
