Patrice Jegou’s “IF IT AIN’T LOVE,” featuring the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Take 6, Tata Vega, and more…

PATRICE JÉGOU (pronounced Zhay-goo) is a singer’s singer. Her sumptuous, velvety, and technically flawless voice embraces you like a warm blanket on a cold night. Her new CD, IF IT AIN’T LOVE, is a musically diverse album of jazz and pop tunes that encompasses big band and huge orchestral arrangements, power ballads, and a cappella  adaptations. Jégou, a Canadian-born, classically trained mezzo-soprano, is an ex-figure skater who took up singing at the suggestion of a cast-mate who heard her amazing singing voice during an ice-skating show in Mexico. Years of study culminated in a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. 

Jégou recruited some of the world’s top arrangers for the recording, including: JORGE CALANDRELLI (arranger for Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett), JOHN CLAYTON, and MARK KIBBLE of TAKE 6. To round it out, she enlisted heavyweights DAVID PAICH of Toto (writer of such hits as “Rosanna” and “Africa,” and son of legendary arranger Marty Paich), and celebrated L.A. studio pianist MIKE LANG. Jégou can really swing, as she so clearly demonstrates on her collaborations with the inimitable CLAYTON-HAMILTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA. 

On tunes like “Waltz for Debby” and “Estate,” both of which were arranged by Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated Calandrelli, Jégou takes a thoughtful and sensitive approach to the lyrics. But she can also get her groove on, and we hear that in the funky Allen Toussaint tune “Yes We Can, Can.” In this track, arranged by Paich, Jégou sings a duet with gospel diva TÀTA VEGA. But whether she’s swinging, feeling the groove, or interpreting an intimate ballad like “It Might Be You,” she clearly captures the heart and soul of a song, no matter the genre.

IF IT AIN’T LOVE was recorded at the famed Capitol Studios and United Recording, in Los Angeles. Jégou was elated when two titans of the music industry agreed to come on board: legendary recording engineers DON MURRAY and AL SCHMITT. And the results are impressive.

Tracks: 

Lover Come Back to Me (a cappella) (feat. Mark Kibble and Alvin Chea)

Jersey Bounce (feat. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) 

Baubles, Bangles, and Beads 

Yes We Can, Can (feat. Táta Vega)

I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today 

Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (feat. Take 6)

If It Ain’t Love (feat. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra)  

Estate (Summer) (feat. Larry Koonse)  

Lover Come Back to Me (feat. Mark Kibble)

Waltz for Debby  

Losing You 

Just Squeeze Me (feat. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) 

Where Do You Start? 

Remembrances (In Memory of Stan Getz) (feat. Javier Almaráz) 0

Please Send Me Someone to Love (feat. The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) 

It Might Be You