Rebecca DuMaine is a singer with a warm and mellifluous voice and the chops to swing like crazy.  Her phrasing and articulation are as intimate as a conversation between friends. For DuMaine, music is an anodyne that can soothe the should during troubled times.  Happy Madness, the fourth CD on Summit Records by DuMaine and the Dave Miller Trio, is a paean to the redemptive powers of music.  DuMaine re-interprets songs by the great 20th century composers, but she doesn't limit herself to one genre or style of music.  She also re-imagines Latin and pop tunes, and includes one delightfully unexpected novelly tune, as well.

The music team of DuMaine and Miller, a delightful father and daughter pairing, creates arrangements of lesser know jazz tunes as well as jazz lovers' favorites, that are fresh and fun. The band playfully explores tunes from the Great American Songbook, through bossa and bebop. Newest addition to the band, Brad Buethe, on guitar, fills out the group's rich sound.

Smart. Simple. Confident. Competent. These are just four descriptors that apply to Rebecca DuMaine’s recital with the Dave Miller Trio entitled Better Than Anything. DuMaine and Miller assemble a recital of fifteen standards and near standards that nominally orbit the specters of Bob Haymes, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Leonard Bernstein, who each provide two songs to the mix. DuMaine and Miller’s chemistry as one would expect from a daughter-father collaboration. DuMaine possesses a durable, no-nonsense voice perfectly suited to her song choices. ‘Better Than Anything’ is fresh and sharp, betraying what must be a facile talent for vocalese. Miller and his solid trio provided just the necessary support, while soloing sensibly.

Dave Miller’s first recording on Summit reached #12 on the JazzWeekradio chart, here he brings the vocals of Rebecca Dumaine and the ‘great American songbook’ for an absolute wonderfully performed, very enjoyable recording! Traditional standards from the Great American Songbook never grow old and are indeed given new life on this marvelous outing!