If you think Gunhild Carling was born too late, you haven’t considered the possibility that she might singlehandedly bring back the jazz age in our time. If her original songs seem somehow familiar, they’re successfully bringing you back to a glorious era celebrating melody, harmony, rhythm, and syncopation. Her recent album, Jazz Is My Lifestyle, not only features her gift for songwriting, but it showcases her brilliant lip. She shines as a vocalist—almost an Emcee, really—and plays remarkable trumpet and trombone.

There are many treats on the disc. I’m looking forward to adding her “Winter’s Day” to my holiday playlist. It’s a sumptuous new classic. And being from San Francisco—but happily living in New York these days—I fairly despise what has become of my old “City by the Bay.” However, Carling’s “I’ll Wait For You in San Francisco” evokes the beauty and style of that town’s fabled past so deeply that I long to visit it again soon.

Gunhild Carling is a modern day Sweet Sue (from the classic film Some Like It Hot), and with her on the road, it’s definitely a hot time. See and hear her whenever possible, and continue loving life.