On his new album, The Song Is You, Matt Barber does something almost unheard of these days. He places the focus on the song rather than his interpretation of it. While this might confuse some listeners, it should be recognized as a sign of his trust in the material. He recreates a golden age of jazz music when the singer might not even step into the bandstand spotlight until the band had established the song in a verse or two on their own.

And in doing so, Matt Barber proves what a malleable instrument he has. His warm voice can do it all, or at least do justice to the twelve standards in this collection, including “East of the Sun,” “Almost Like Being in Love,” “I Remember You,” “All the Things You Are,” and “Moon River.”

Musicians on the disc include Bradley Young (piano), Marc LeBrun (piano), David Enos (bass), Brian Ward (bass), Greg Sadler (drums), Tony Guerrero (flugelhorn & trumpet), Joakim Toftgaard (trombone), Dori Amarillo (guitar), Mack Goldsbury (sax & picollo), Pablo Sune (guitar), Stephan Oberhoff (strings & guitar), Madison Hardy (backup vocals), Day Kelly (piano & sop sax), Barry Rigby (bass), and Daniel Dennis (drums). Together they create an intimate quality to each track that transports the listener to one of those swell rooms where one might be lucky enough to hear Matt Barber and company live.