MUSICWEB:
Carol Jarvis is an extraordinary woman on more levels than one. As a freelance trombonist, her ability to traverse wide-ranging musical styles is such that she is as likely to be seen playing with the London Symphony Orchestra as she is with Sting, Seal or Michael Bolton, all artists with whom she has appeared on tour as well as in the recording studio.
 
As a human being however, her story is perhaps even more remarkable. In 2004, whilst still in her mid-20s, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a condition for which she is still receiving treatment. There have been long and often painful months and years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is a more recent experimental drug regime that has happily had a positive effect on the condition and has allowed her to continue to work hard and lead a largely normal life; a life she takes every possible opportunity to lead to the maximum.
 
And it is that positive, life-affirming attitude that imbues every note of Carol Jarvis's playing on this diversely programmed, entertaining and highly enjoyable CD, conceived to raise both awareness and funding for Macmillan Cancer Support.
 
The musical material includes several evergreen favourites such as Caravan , Alfie and When You Wish Upon a Star . It is also laced with an appetising handful of originals. The most intriguing of these is perhaps Jan Sandstrom's Sang Till Lotta , a beautiful miniature that in its touching but never overly sentimental or cloying simplicity is light years away from the same composer's Motorbike Concerto , famously championed by another ambassador for the trombone, Christian Lindberg.
 
Amongst the other original material on offer, the project's conductor and co-producer Roderick Dunk - who along with Barry Booth is also responsible for a number of the featured arrangements - contributes Carol's Tune , an upbeat number that after a slow introduction plays effectively to the soloist's fabulous legato playing in its easy jazz style. Mel Purves's haunting For Absent friends is beautifully tinged with a hint of blues yet maintains a folk-song feel to its melody and accompaniment. Barry Booth's Principal Uncertainty conjures up images of smoke-hazed late night jazz lounges, an atmosphere that Carol Jarvis evokes to intoxicating effect.
 
The more familiar fare that provides the material for the talents of the arrangers is no less effective with Rod Dunk and Barry Booth putting their own slant on several of the numbers including How High the Moon - no prizes for spotting the fleeting quote from Rusalka 's Song to the Moon that provides the cleverly appropriate introduction - and Duke Ellington's legendary Caravan that in not dissimilar but slightly more extended fashion quotes Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia . The tricky Latin rhythms of Chick Corea's vibrant Spain sound deceptively easy in Jarvis's hands with a sparkling Tico-Tico also providing well considered contrast with the dreamier material on offer.
 
It is all very neatly summed up with the final track, an imaginative arrangement by Roderick Dunk of Charlie Chaplin's Smile , and an ideal musical metaphor for the soloist herself.
 
Carol Jarvis's frantically busy globe-trotting life as a freelance trombonist continues unabated, as anyone that subscribes to her frequent Twitter feeds will discover. But it is when one couples her work ethic and sheer versatility as a player with her incredible determination and resilience in attempting to overcome her condition that we get close to understanding what both life and a way forward in conquering that condition in the future really means to her.
 
This beautiful, often touching and always entertaining CD is a perfect demonstration of her passion for both causes.
Christopher Thomas

MOJO:
It's not just that Carol Jarvis is a musician who plays fine trombone; the miracle is that she plays at all. Diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma six years ago, she's undergone countless treatments, one involving a radioactive isotope that meant her being left in a lead-lined room until she was safe to be around people. The bottom line is that, whatever her circumstances, she is a musician worth hearing, one who's fashioned arrangements from Seal and orchestrated tracks for Corinne Bailey Rae. Here, her playing has been set against a backdrop of strings as she negotiates such standards as How High the Moon, Caravan, Tico-Tico, and But Beautiful, along with a few originals. The result is an album of high-grade easy listening, clad in a sleeve painted by Rolf Harris, that benefits Macmillan Cancer Support. Both a worthy release and cause.
Fred Dellar

MUSICWEB DOWNLOAD ROUNDUP:
The publicity material on the Divine Art website says it all, so I won't try to paraphrase: A very special CD for (and by) a very special musician. Trombonist Carol Jarvis is a fine and much in demand performer. Diagnosed in 2004 with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of only 26, Carol has fought through the disease with pioneering treatment and has maintained her position as one of the UK's leading instrumentalists. In her own words; "a cancer diagnosis doesn't have to be a death sentence. It can be a very dark and lonely place, but it also opens your eyes to the world. If anything, my life is so much better since that diagnosis as I don't take anything for granted anymore and treasure even the smallest things."

50% of the proceeds of the CD version of this wonderful album are for the benefit of Macmillan Cancer Support; I hope and trust that the same is true of the download versions, otherwise I'd encourage you to purchase the disc. The cover shot is taken from a painting of Carol by Rolf Harris, again produced for the benefit of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Did I remember to say that in addition to the good cause, I enjoyed hearing it very much, hope to hear more from Carol.
Brian Wilson

MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS:
This is an unusual album for my slot, as most of the tracks are in jazz or laid-back swing style. But they are beautifully played by Manchester-trained trombonist Carol Jarvis, and I recommend it not only for a rewarding experience of easy listening but because it's been produced to help the charity Macmillan Cancer Support.

Rolf Harris has contributed an endorsement and his own portrait of Carol, and several of the musical arrangements are by Roderick Dunk, the co-producer of the disc. All the musicians in the orchestral and other accompanying groups gave their services free. Above all, it's a wonderful testimony to the talent and spirit of a very remarkable musician. The Diversions label is a division of the Divine Art Record Company of Northallerton.
Robert Beale