Miranda Sage- Moon and Sand

"Moon and Sand" was written by William Engvick a prominent and prolific jazz & film soundtrack composer. His songs have been covered by a pantheon of jazz notables like Tony Bennett, Cleo Laine, Kenny Burrell, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Zoot Sims and Art Tatum. "Moon and Sand" became a favorite song of Chet Baker's later in his life and rendered the most soulful and haunting version of "Moon and Sand" even as his voice was diminished from the ravages of drug use, hard drinking, and old age. When Chet's one time perfect tenor became gritty it added an entirely new deminsion to his vocals.

This Miranda Sage recent cover of "Moon and Sand" is as good or better than Chet's definitive version. The musical arrangement with it's bossa nova tempo and it's fluid bassline complement' Ms. Sage's sensual and unhurried vocal aporoach. She hints at the mysteries of love as she sings this song about a romantic encounter on a beach after dark. It's deceptively challenging song to sing because there's over a full octave leap from the verses to the bridge to the chorus. And Ms. Sage makes the leap with plenty of vocal range to spare. As good as Chet sang "Moon and Sand" you can hear the strain in his voice on the high notes of the song. If you want the down and dirty version, go with Chet's vocal but the smooth as satin version belongs to Miranda Sage.