Bria Skonberg: What It Means

Here’s an album that you may play start to finish and continue to have on heavy rotation because you just don’t want the music to stop! Equally adept as a trumpet player and a vocalist, Bria Skonberg kicks the album off with an instrumental version of “Comes Love.” The song starts out with a swampy blues groove and then switches midstream to a piano montuno where the rhythm section invites you to a celebration, a real dance party. Can a voice be sultry and smoky and yet possess a light and a breezy quality? Certainly, when Bria Skonberg sings. Some people are born with exquisite taste and the ability to create an experience where everything is perfectly in place, and both balanced and satisfying on every level. That’s what it’s like listening to Bria sing and play with her bandmates throughout this album, which includes some New Orleans parade-like grooves guaranteed to put the joy into your step. What It Means also features some captivating ballads that highlight Bria’s sensitivity, heartfelt honesty, and emotionally driven singing. “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” is divine. A duet with vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa on Van Morrison’s “Days Like This” is also a gem. Winner!