If you’re a guy like me, there’s always something fresh and anticipatory about a debut CD by a female jazz vocalist, a romantic kind of excitement that makes you anxious…
15 Jul
The Nearness Of You by Nicole Henry
Thursday, 15 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Standards can be a minefield for the new jazz vocalist. Too often, the assumption of safety is made, when in fact the opposite is true, with lesser artists being caught out…
14 Jul
Give Me Your Love by Angela Blair
Wednesday, 14 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
This CD is really nice and I really want to hear more from this artist. I was really pleased with the entire flow and feel of the music. The vocals are top notch and they c…
11 Jul
A Little Bit Of Sugar by Angela Scappatura
Sunday, 11 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Just when you think you have heard the best as you sort out the rest another artist enters your collective library that turns an ordinary day into a matchless revelation…
09 Jul
The World Of Nat King Cole by Nat "King" Cole
Friday, 09 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
In recognition of the 40th anniversary of Nat Cole’s death, Capitol offers both a CD and DVD presentation. The choice is yours! The career-spanning CD provides all t…
Doe Bender updates the 'Ella Fitzgerald' sound but brings it into her Canadian own. The album consists not only of 'home compositions' but also some old standards as well a…
Jackie Allen’s latest release, "Love is Blue", is the rarest of combinations. It satisfies tastes for artistry, familiarity, jazz, pop, blues, hope, sultriness and playfuln…
05 Jul
Live @ Red by Barbara Lea and Wes McAfee
Monday, 05 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
These days it is rare to hear a new release that can fit into the classic genre of 50s and 60s popular song. Those days are lost forever it would seem. Some long for that t…
New York vocalist, Sue Giles introduced her first CD late last summer and a copy landed on my desk recently. From Sue With Love starts off with an orig…
03 Jul
Intrinsic by Typhanie Monique & Neal Alger
Saturday, 03 July 2004
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Duo fans will love this new CD by Typhanie Monique and guitarist Neal Alger. Some years ago, "duos" gained in popularity because they were economically afford…
Here’s a vocal album with a difference. Emily Bezar offers her new CD titled Angels’ Abacus. Bezar described her earlier recordings as "art-rock" and the curr…
02 Jul
I'm Not A Sometime Thing by Carol Mennie
Friday, 02 July 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Recently my JazzReview colleague, Don Williamson, penned a wonderful review of Carol Mennie’s CD. As a review copy of I’m Not A Sometime Thing also found its …
Spellbound is how audiences frequently find themselves at some point during a Sendy Brown performance. Sendy doesn't just sing; she creates. Carefu...
Recently described by L.A. Jazz Scene's Scott Yanow as "most impressive", singer-pianist-songwriter Marilyn Harris boasts an enviable jazz pedigree...
Singer Ron Kaplan recruited some of the finest West Coast Jazz Musicians in the Monterey Bay to record and accompany him on tour in 2004 for the Ja...
A dynamic performer with an entrancing voice, singer/actress Christy Baron has recorded three albums with Chesky Records over the last decade. This...
Departing from his usual progressive compositional style, Loren Stillman wrote eight inspirational melodies that he called Psalms. He asked Bruce H...
Critically acclaimed, award winning vocalist Stevie Holland has inspired and thrilled audiences in the worlds of pop, theater and jazz music. Her ...
Singer and recording artist Sofia Laiti was born in Lapland, the unique society in the northernmost arctic area in Finland, Laiti retains traces of...
"a sound that sends shivers up peoples spines." "Velvet" 'sensual" "bluesy" these are some of the adjectives used in the effort to describe Faith G...
29 Jun
Between The Sun and The Moon by Brenda Russell
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
If you know anything about vocalist Brenda Russell, one thing is apparent about her. She is one of the most versatile musical artists of her generation. She has the …
Gail Dobson is a vocalist and music educator who has been active in the San Francisco Bay area for many years. She is perhaps not as well known as her husband, pianist and …
Introducing Alma the first solo album from Serbian singer Alma Micic opens with a lovely and haunting take of Ellington and Strayhorn’s "Day Dream." Brandon McCune u…
Lonely is a three-track EP from Minneapolis-based crooner Jerry Grillo.A throwback to the days of cabaret, Grillo has earned comparisons to Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin…
24 Jun
Close To You by Kathleen Willison
Thursday, 24 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Multi-tasking is an aptitude often avoided by many for it involves a trained mind and a driven vision that one cannot just initiate. it’s a talent that becomes nurtured …
Probability is that which one battles against when one risks passage past the line of stereotypical to distinct. That in turn which catapults one from a face in the crowd t…
Kerry Linder is a delightful vocalist who reminds frequently of Astrid Gilberto and who consistently shines on this beautiful effort. A native of Curacao, the largest of th…
20 Jun
The Cat Lover - The Songs Of Colin Thomas by Colin Tommis
Sunday, 20 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Despite his considerable credentials as a guitarist, composer and teacher, Colin Tommis doesn't make an appearance on his latest release, except as the writer of 10 brand n…
This self-produced release from jazz vocalist Danny Barrett is very nice indeed. From the tasteful arrangements of Bill O'Connell to the fine playing by the various musicia…
18 Jun
Live: A Fortnight in France by Patricia Barber
Friday, 18 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Wow! What a woman! Internationally touring jazz pianist. Subversive alto whose singing soothes and disturbs at the same time. 2003 Guggenheim fellowship winner. Patricia Ba…
Annette Warren is back with her fourth CD from Outstanding Records. The CD speaks for itself by way of the title, Torch Songs. It is a jam packed session of melancholy love…
Blistering Intensity.... .For those devotees of vocal jazz, take your plastic and charge this purchase to your jazz account! This voice is hot and geared up to lay so…
15 Jun
Prelude to a Kiss by Brigitte Beraha
Tuesday, 15 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Got No Blues, the striking first track on vocalist Brigitte Beraha’s debut album Prelude to a Kiss conjures a shifting and shadowy noir world of lovers who discover …
15 Jun
The Jazz Wedding Album: First Dances by Various Artists
Tuesday, 15 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Having attended and even planned a few weddings in 2004, I can report that at least one of the songs on Verve’s The Jazz Wedding Album: First Dances, was played at o…
In a departure from her earlier recordings, vocalist Judi Silvano delivers her first CD made up entirely of standards. "Let Yourself Go" is described as a salute to her 80-…
Jazz vocalist Katie Bull just never lets you down with her insightful CD projects. She & the groups she puts togetherseem supreme in their ability to effect change in our f…
'The power of words & the human voice, to evoke emotionwhich helps us take in our own subjective musical experience.'A current day philosopher: (ME!!....chuckle, chuckle )s…
11 Jun
Reflections Of Love by Sharyn Wynters
Friday, 11 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
When lyrics speak the truth they become a prime example of the extravagant poetry of the American love song. The torch has been passed and Sharyn Wynters brings torch si…
10 Jun
No Happy Endings, A Tribute To The Lady In Satin by Peter Marshall and the music of Ray Ellis
Thursday, 10 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
This spin is for every distressed desire that has met heartache at the door. Moods of misplaced moments are the tone for Peter Marshall’s "No Happy Endings" an exquisite co…
10 Jun
Swing Rodgers & Hart by Anita O'Day
Thursday, 10 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Even when the material is show tunes, Anita O’Day manages to make the music swing.The proof can be heard on this recording of Rodgers and Hart songs she made with arrang…
Back from a ten year hiatus, Danny Barrett returns with his soothing romantic vocals on Indian Summer. His voice has mellowed in maturity since the release of his criticall…
07 Jun
Jane Monheit: Taking a Chance on Love by Jane Monheit
Monday, 07 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
In her new CD, devoted to 12 songs she cherishes from old movies, vocalist Jane Monheit stands out in her renditions of ballads. Her sweet bell-like voice, riding on a cush…
07 Jun
Speak Beak by Regina "Beaky" Johnston
Monday, 07 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
In a day and age when female jazz vocalists are returning to the popular music scene, the industry and the artists run the risk of turning out works that "fit the formula".…
06 Jun
The Many Moods Of Miss Justine by Miss Justine
Sunday, 06 June 2004
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Justine Keeys is a beloved member of the Philadelphia jazz scene, and her recordings keep getting better and better. Now she has recorded The Many Moods of Miss Justine,…
05 Jun
Restless Willow by Stevie Holland
Saturday, 05 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Stevie Holland’s newest release Restless Willow is a CD that radiates warmth, as does the singer herself. The New York vocalist spent a few years on the cabar…
03 Jun
The Art Of Romance by Tony Bennett
Thursday, 03 June 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
It’s difficult to fathom the fact that Tony Bennett has been selling hit songs for five decades. It seems that I bought my copy of Because Of You only yesterday but …
The CD opens with Liza Lee slowly singing the opening line of "Strawberry Fields Forever."Her wistful delivery creates a sense of mystery because it’s not evident where …
Linda Ronstadt is one of those talents who can’t be categorized and who has followed her own muse, wherever it would lead her. Even of late, she simply said what she believ…
30 May
Coffee, Chocolate & Men by Jen Rathbun
Sunday, 30 May 2004
Published in
Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
If Jen Rathbun were an actress in the 1940s, she would have owned the part of the smart dame who wore killer suits and spouted off snappy one-liners.Instead, she’s a mod…
I'm very tempted to skip the formalities of a record review and just say "buy this disc." But since JazzReview.com has asked me for reviews, here is my review: