String Quartet & Cello

The City of My Soul

‘This is a stunning album, the music of which certainly opens up new and quite astonishing possibilities for other jazz vocal artists around the world to emulate and expand. Dunér’s seriousness as an artist and a musician are not to be questioned. This is a first-class creator reaching out to expand further the sometimes-uncomfortable relationship between jazz and classical music’. Fanfare Magazine.

The City of Dizzy

‘Sophie’s singing style resembles almost no one else’s except perhaps one: Lee Morse, the forgotten “red hot mama” of the 1920s, whose full belted style, complete with whoops and yodels, resembles hers. But that’s about it. When you use your voice like an instrument—really like an instrument—you’re not thinking in terms of “sounding nice” or maintaining a pleasant legato. You’re improvising like a jazz horn. Many such singers have claimed this distinction, but only a handful, Dunér, Mark Murphy and Anita O’Day among them, have ever really achieved this. There’s an elemental, animal excitement in everything Dunér sings that grabs you by the throat and pulls you out of complacency.’ The Art Music Lounge