| Jazz |
Marie Mørck’s “My One and Only Love”: A Tender Tribute from a Voice That Deserves to Be Heard in Her Own Words
In a time when overproduction and overexposure often threaten to drown out the essence of musical storytelling, Marie Mørck offers a quiet, elegant rebellion. My One and Only Love, the sophomore album by the Danish jazz vocalist, is a charming, delicately curated collection of standards that feels like an intimate conversation between artist and listener. It is, by all accounts, a delightful listen, tasteful, heartfelt, and graced by a voice that is as distinctive as it is emotionally attuned.
And yet, there is only one fair criticism to level at this beautiful project: it leaves us yearning not for more covers, but for Mørck’s own songs.
Her previous work hinted at a richly promising talent not only as a vocalist but as a composer with a poetic touch and narrative depth. Here, she sets aside that role, turning instead toward the timeless canon of American jazz and popular song, those well-worn, much-sung standards that have cradled countless voices before hers. One might wonder: what more can possibly be said with these songs?
But Mørck doesn’t merely sing these classics. She acts them. With every note, she embodies the stories behind the melodies, lending them a freshness that borders on revelation. This is the rare album of covers that neither clings to nostalgia nor attempts to dazzle with reinvention. It lives in a space of reverent intimacy. And perhaps most striking of all is the ease with which Mørck inhabits these songs, a deceptive ease, no doubt the product of years of technical refinement and emotional study.
“There’s a reason these songs have endured,” she reflects in the album’s liner notes. “They’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Through them, I want to offer a moment of connection, an invitation to pause, to reflect, and to rediscover the timeless beauty of these stories and melodies.”
From the first notes of the title track, it’s clear that Mørck is not simply revisiting the past—she’s communing with it. Her voice, clear as crystal and warm as sunlight through linen, carries the weight of every lyric with grace and poise. At times, she evokes the ghost harmonies and jazzy phrasing of Manhattan Transfer, hinting at a love for vocal jazz groups that prioritize lush interplay and tonal precision. But unlike those ensembles, Mørck is alone at the mic—and the result is all the more compelling for it.
Indeed, what sets My One and Only Love apart in a crowded field of vocal jazz albums is its honesty. There are no fireworks here, no showy arrangements or overwrought dramatics. Instead, Mørck delivers each song with an understated elegance that speaks volumes about her musical values: restraint over bravado, emotional truth over technical exhibitionism.
“My journey as a songwriter will continue,” Mørck assures us between the lines. “But for now, I’m taking a moment to pay homage to the music that shaped me.” That sense of personal devotion runs through every track, making this album not just a collection of songs, but a love letter,to jazz, to songcraft, and to the quiet power of interpretation.
If we take this album as a pause, a gentle detour before the next chapter in Mørck’s creative evolution, then it is a welcome and worthy one. It is rare to encounter a singer who understands that the act of interpretation is not secondary to creation, it is creation, when done with this level of intention and artistry.
My One and Only Love is a reminder that elegance never goes out of style. And Marie Mørck, with her singular voice and deep sense of musical self, is not simply interpreting the past, she is preparing us, perhaps, for something even more personal on the horizon.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 30th 2025
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Musicians :
Marie Mørck | Vocals
Magnus Hjorth | Piano
Snorre Kirk | Drums
Lasse Mørck | Double Bass
Tracklist :
Look for the Silver Lining
Are You Havin’ Any Fun?
Like Someone in Love
Young At Heart
I’m In The Mood for Love
My One and Only Love