Michael Feinstein is a critical link in America’s musical chain. On one side, he’s helping push it forward with his own new recordings. His most recent Concord Records release teams him with the renowned Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Together, they offer lush new treatments of a dozen standards by Gershwin, Hammerstein, Loesser and others. It’s a rare occasion of the orchestra performing popular America music, and Feinstein’s first time recording with a symphony orchestra. On the other side …

Telarc Jazz recording artist, Tierney Sutton, is a jazz vocalist quite unlike any performing today; she has a genuine and unique approach to jazz resulting in a sound that is hers and hers alone. Tierney would say that the sound is not hers alone, she is a member of the band, and the sound is theirs alone. I believe both she and I would be right. The Tierney Sutton Band is a philosophical anomaly in the music world. The band has no diva, no boss, no black sheep. What they have is a team that …

Vocalist Patrice Williamson recently released her second CD, "Free to Dream," the follow-up to her acclaimed 1998 debut, "My Shining Hour." With the sophomore release, Williamson continues to build a solid body of work and expand her growing reputation. More confident than ever, she sings and scats with authority. Williamson stretches herself with material ranging from Bud Powell’s "Celia" to Stevie Wonder’s "Another Star." She even sings a spirited, nine-minute medley of songs from "The Soun …

Rene Marie is proving that she’s not just another girl singer. Unafraid to take risks, she created one of the most powerful recordings of 2001 with the unlikely pairing of "Dixie" and "Strange Fruit." In addition to being a bold new interpreter, she showed that she’s a gifted songwriter with three original compositions on the album. "Vertigo," her second MAXJAZZ release, was named to numerous "best of 2001" lists last year, and Marie earned her second consecutive Association for Independent …

Seeing Carla Cook perform is watching joy in motion. She sings with an ease that makes an audience instantly comfortable with her; yet she can turn on the intensity at a moment’s notice. She glides through a song, nodding to each of her instrumentalists as they take their turn at the spotlight. In acknowledging the applause, she generously includes her sidemen.Carla’s musical background includes training as a choral singer in many different styles, as well as piano and string bass studies. Sh …