Vicky Hamilton (musician)

New York Times critic Rex Reed wrote in 1969 of their self-titled album:

Vicky Hamilton is a vocalist of profound musical intelligence, wit and sensitivity who seems years ahead of her time. Together [with Dave Mackay] they have written most of the superb material in this album and sing it in an awesomely impressive jazz style. ... There are only two cuts here in a conventional time pattern; most are in odd time changes that flip from 5 to 7, with intervals that can only be described as microtonal. One number, written and sung within an inch of its life by Miss Hamilton, is called "Elephant Song". It took [their record producer] six hours .. to transcribe it. But that should not concern the listener, only the beauty and brilliance of the end result. ... "Elephant Song", which reminded me of the kind of whimsical lyrics Dory Previn writes, has the rich ebullience of a child's first trip to the circus.^[6]

Reed also considered, "There isn't one band on this disk that could be considered less than perfect. ... Their up tunes are filled with joy and sass, and their ballads are lush and hypnotic. .... Miss Hamilton sings like a dream".^[6]

Other reviewers were also positive. One said, "a very good blending of voices ... always [] gentle, never too loud. ... a very tasteful album - quite surprising in fact."^[3] Another also commented, "The mellow voices of Dave and Vicky blend beautifully with the jazz sounds for some unusual effects",^[4] while a third found them "fresh and stimulting [sic] in the tradition of Jackie and Roy ... experts at injecting unusual meters into their approach, giving their original compositions an off-beat style."^[5]

• Dave Mackay with Vicky Hamilton on YouTube
• Vicky Hamilton on Discogs