As  Glen  Kwok  pointed  out  in  his  introduction  to  the  music,  Sara  Caswell  is  well  credentialed  to  be  in  the  IVCI  series.    She  participated  in  the  2002  competition,  the  first  Indiana  native  to  be  admitted.  As  part  of  the  Josef  Gingold  studio  since  childhood  she  had  made  waves  as  a  classical  violinist  before  turning  her  focus  to  jazz  at  Indiana  University.  

Rachel  Caswell  is  a  skilled,  seemingly  intuitive  scat  vocalist,  a  near-­‐match  for  her  sister  when  the  pace  is  frenetic.  That  was  evident  in  such  up-­‐tempo  numbers  as  "Asiatic  Raes"and  the  rollicking  "Sweet  Adelphi,"  composed  by  Christine  Jensen  of  another  notable  jazz  sisters  duo  (trumpeter  Ingrid  Jensen  completes  that  pair).  Sara's  glinting,  ferocious  solo  set  up  a  nicely  complementary  solo  by  Steve  Allee,  the  top-­‐drawer  pianist  of  a  rhythm  section  also  including  two  Bloomington  musicians,  bassist  Jeremy  Allen  and  drummer  Steve  Houghton.  

Programming  was  exemplary,  with  the  ballads  nicely  spaced  amid  the  faster-­‐paced  pieces.  I  liked  Rachel's  unaffected  delivery  and  apt  phrasing  in  Leonard  Bernstein's  "Some  Other  Time"  and  Hoagy  Carmichael's  "I  Get  Along  Without  You  Very  Well,"  both  of  them  tenderly  punctuated  by  Sara's  violin.  

The  arrangements  were  ear-­‐catching  and  fresh,  too.  "Bye  Bye,  Blackbird"  was  laid  out  with  interesting  rhythmic  hitches  in  the  familiar  melody,  complementing  the  violinist's  long,  arching  lines.  Charlie  Haden's  "First  Song"  provided  a  beautiful  exposition  of  Sara's  firm,  mellow  sound,  and  her  nimble  articulation  got  a  showcase,  again  with  Rachel  taking  a  breather,  in  "Seven  Rings,"  a  Brazilian  tune  featuring  a  cymbal-­‐intensive  Houghton  solo.        

Sara's    original  composition,  "Stroll,"  demonstrated  that  striking  novelty  in  the  blues  form  is  always  possible,  linked  to  a  witty,  offhand  manner  that  was  sustained  by  the  ensemble  solos  and  transmuted  to  a  relaxed  boogie-­‐woogie  feeling  by  Allen  and  Allee.  

Solos  all  around  characterized  the  vigorous  fast  samba  that  concluded  the  show,  Nancy  King's  "I  Sing  for  You,"    featuring  a  spirited  bop  unison  passage  for  the  sisters  before  the  final  chorus  put  a  seal  on  this  exhilarating  demonstration  of  sibling  excellence  backed  up  by  three  worthy  peers.