Ale Nunez: Blue Room

CELLAR MUSIC (RELEASED AUGUST 28, 2026)

It is fitting that Canadian vocalist Ale Nunez opens her debut recording, Blue Room, with Duke Ellington’s “I’m Just a Lucky So and So.” She is indeed lucky to have guitarist Peter Bernstein and bassist Neil Swainson as her partners on this intimate collection. Together, the trio brings a sense of warmth and ease to 13 familiar selections from the Great American Songbook. Nunez sings with a pure, unadorned clarity that recalls such nterpreters of this repertoire as Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan. What distinguishes Blue Room, however, is the setting: Nunez performs these standards with only guitar and bass, an unusually sparse approach in an era when vocal jazz recordings often rely on larger ensembles, big bands or orchestral arrangements. Bernstein and Swainson provide an understated but highly responsive foundation that allows Nunez to focus on the melodic and emotional qualities of songs such as “Little Girl Blue,” “Thou Swell” and “Stars Fell on Alabama.” The arrangements are carefully suited to the trio format, whether on ballads such as “My Foolish Heart,” the up-tempo swing of “Three Little Words,” or the bossa treatment of “When Sunny Gets Blue.” Nunez and Bernstein perform “East of the Sun” as a duo, while Nunez and Swainson turn “Blue Room” into another intimate conversation. Throughout the recording, Nunez’s voice—rooted in both jazz and soul—is complemented by Bernstein’s sophisticated guitar work and Swainson’s assured, swinging bass. The combination of Nunez’s voice and expert accompaniment of Bernstein and Swainson is further proof that these classics from the Great American Songbook are timeless. There may not be anything radically new on Blue Room, but there is something radically soothing and enjoyable about this session.

BOTTOM LINE: The 13 Great American Songbook classics on Blue Room have been recorded by countless vocalists. What distinguishes Ale Nunez’s debut is the combination of her clear, soulful voice and the elegant interplay of guitaristPeter Bernstein and bassist Neil Swainson. The sparse instrumentation gives the familiar material room to breathe, making Blue Room a simple, seductive and satisfying introduction to Nunez as a recording artist.