Ida Sand - I Will Be Right There Ida Sand

There is a complete lack of pretension and artifice about Swedish singer / pianist / songwriter Ida Sand. She is eminently relatable and approachable and yet there is no denying either her presence or her aura - she is a diva, but only in the very best sense of the word.

It is now 20 years since Ida Sand released her ACT debut album, ‘Meet Me Around Midnight’, and over that time she has become one of the most loved artists in European soul-jazz. 

Whether singing unaccompanied, or just with piano, or in major venues alongside Nils Landgren or the SWR Big Band, what will invariably touch audiences’ hearts is Ida Sand’s warmth and her authenticity. And, of course, that distinctive sonorous voice with its hint of smokiness, recognisable from the very first note. 

These same qualities are what make the music on Ida Sand’s new album, ‘I Will Be Right There’, so compelling. As one listens to it, what is being conveyed is exactly what the title suggests - it is as though Ida Sand were singing, at that very moment, for you alone. “The songs on the album are the result of my own introspection and reflections on the relationships in my life, and what it means to be in healthy alignment with others,” says Ida. “I wanted to put into words how I value responsibility and intent in relationships, and how we sometimes need to sharpen our communication and intuition when
interacting with other people.”

The album’s musical ingredients range from soul, rhythm and blues, folk and Americana. Although Ida often moves within the world of jazz, the songs dispense with extended solos and improvisations. Instead, it is the small, spontaneous embellishments and variations, the subtle swing of many of the grooves and the harmonic depth of
the songs that gently point towards jazz.

The album was recorded virtually live in the studio, often in just one or two takes and with hardly any overdubs, simply because there was so little to correct or add. There is a good reason for this: the core band - guitarist and Ida Sand’s husband Ola Gustafsson, drummer Per Lindvall and organist Jesper Nordenström - is made up of the top drawer of Sweden’s very best studio musicians.

Alongside seven of Sand’s own compositions (including two versions of the title track), ranging from moving ballads to fiery, groove-driven numbers, the album also features interpretations of two classic songs: Massive Attack’s darkly shimmering ‘Teardrop’ and the English-language version of Jacques Brel’s ‘Ne me quitte pas’.