Perfect Peace – Kristie L. Sibley (K Love Music 2003)

Perfect Peace
Kristie L. Sibley
K Love Music 2003
www.cdbaby.com/kristie

Perfect Peace is Kristie Linley-Sibley’s debut project, an independently produced inspirational jazz album.

In the spirit of indie albums, Sibley and her crew multi-tasked: her husband Corey produced the album in association with two of their talented musicians, Clarence Hill and Alton Gibson. Gibson also helped engineer the CD. Sibley wrote most of the songs herself and even contributed the background vocals by multi-tracking her voice on high harmonies that sound like the early Pointer Sisters.

Sibley has a versatile but gentle and pretty soprano ideally suited for jazz, although she can, and does, transition on a dime into gospel bluesy melisma, such as on her interpretation of “Amazing Grace.”

But make no mistake: after seven jazz-flavored cuts, including the radio-friendly title track, Sibley turns the tables by delivering two successive church-wrecking performances: a setting of Psalm 51 and the classic “Walk With Me, Lord.” On “Psalm 51,” she is accompanied only by piano on an improvisational workout that is the true test of any gospel singer’s musical muster. “Walk” will bring a congregation to its feet, shouting and clapping and waving hands in complete communion with the artist.

If Kristie Linley-Sibley records another CD — and since the Clarksville, Tennessee resident is in the dawn of her career, she probably will — it would be a critical success if 80 percent of it is made up of church-wrecking performances such as “Walk With Me, Lord” and 20 percent were piano-vocal jazz, such as “Psalm 51” or even the nice small combo jazz sound on “Adonai.”

Two and a Half of Four Stars