Austin, TX-based jazz vocalist Sarah Sharp brings a smoky, chamber-folk intimacy to Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” recorded during her long-running Thursday residency at the Elephant Room. Originally taken up after a former boyfriend developed cancer, Sharp’s rendition transforms the classic into a deeply personal meditation on loss and acceptance. The track comes via her residency album, Déjà Vu.

While Dylan’s original embraces his traditional acoustic guitar trickling, heartfelt harmonica, and signature vocals, Sharp’s riveting interpretation succeeds with an entirely different arsenal of instrumentation. Her smoky “ain’t no use” opening vocals exude a spine-tingling lushness, set within a tender electric guitar solemnity, more Jeff Buckley-esque than Dylan. Gentle, jazzy percussion and bass ease in seamlessly as the two-minute turn approaches, the lounge-ready piano-led serenity also bolstering the beautiful mix.

An especially gorgeous interplay between harmonious guitar smoothness and rainy-day piano tones takes hold as the track’s final minute comes into view. There, Sharp’s vocals return for a memorable send-off. “You just kinda wasted my precious time,” Sharp’s magnetic vocals let out into a stirring, satiating piano chord finality. “But don’t think twice, it’s all right.” Sharp’s cover of “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” retains the original’s emotive power, while providing a delectably laid-back and introspective stylistic envisioning — thoroughly succeeding.

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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.

We discovered this release via MusoSoup.

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