Featured Book: Eva Cassidy: Songbird

Author: Bob Burley, Jonathan Maitland, and Elana Rhodes Byrd

Publisher: Gotham Books

Year Published: 2003

Type: Biography

Format / Pages: / 176 pages

Review: Eva Cassidy was a remarkable singer with a voice that was perfectly attuned to the blues and jazz. She was also gifted in other ways, such as an artist with drawing and painting talents which won her early recognition. To her co-workers and fellow musicians, they said they never heard her make a vocal mistake and her vocalizations were flawless.

She fought against the cancer that would spread through her body, but in the end, it did kill her, and the beautiful, silky soprano voice of Eva Cassidy was stilled while she was still in her 30s, a great lost to blues. Eva Cassidy died on November 2, 1996. A voice that was sensitive and articulate was gone.

After her death, her legacy lived on in a series of recordings including "The Other Side," "Live at Blues Alley," "Eva By Heart," "Songbird," "Imagine," "Time After Time," and "American Tune." Her songbooks include "The Best Of Eva Cassidy," "Imagine," "Songbird," and "The Eva Cassidy Songbook For Guitar."

This story of Eva Cassidy is one of tragedy, hope, strength, and courage. This book will move you with its story of a an artist who continued to endure despite her oncoming death, a story full of joy and triumph.

Highly recommended. The book is filled with photographs that chart the singer's life. This finely written book would make an ideal gift for those interested in the life of Eva Cassidy, and also for inclusion in your local Public Library for library patrons interested in the blues and jazz music of contemporary singers.

Additional Information: Check it out @ Amazon.com

ISBN: 1592400353

Reviewed by: Lee Prosser

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