TALK OF THE TOWN is an exceptional jazz vocals listening experience. The vocals are perfect, the musicians are playing great solo and group performances, and the mood is ja…
31 May
Couldnt Be Hotter by The Manhattan Transfer
Saturday, 31 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
COULDN'T BE HOTTER is a live recording featuring the enduring, innovative vocals of Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne and Tim Hauser which is, The Manhattan Transfer.…
Curtis Stigers has a very direct, honest voice, one that brings much feeling to a song, and one that is clear. His tenor saxophone work is enjoyable. Accompanied by a fine …
Armonica is a Portland, Ore.-based jazz vocalist with a fresh, easy style.Her debut CD, "From Me to You," features 11 songs, mostly standards plus a few lesser-known num…
Moon Glow the new CD by vocalist Jimmy Scott has a lot of his trademarks, which in the 40’s and the 50’s, made him an adored jazz balladeer. Moon Glow is his …
Diane Schuur’s third Concord CD, Midnight, is the most completely personalized project that she has recorded for the label since she was signed several years ago. Fo…
19 May
Betty Carters Finest Hour by Betty Carter
Monday, 19 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Looking at the crowded field of female singers, Betty Carter ranks as one of the most innovative. Wide streaks of risk and improvisation blaze through her music as much as …
Call it prescience. Or perfect timing. But when Concord Records released Curtis Stigers’s first CD on the label, Baby Plays Around, heads turned and ears opened to a…
10 May
May The Music Never End by Shirley Horn
Saturday, 10 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Understated and underrated Shirley Horn delivers another strong CD."May The Music Never End" doesn’t stray far from what Horn has done in the past. And, that’s a good th…
09 May
Let It Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings The Beatles by Connie Evingson
Friday, 09 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
A warm, clear voice makes these enjoyable Beatles songs even more enjoyable and entertaining as Connie Evingson sings the Fab Four's hits! Evingson has a smooth, accurate d…
06 May
Jacintha Is Her Name: Dedicated To Julie London by Jacintha
Tuesday, 06 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
In a moving tribute to the late jazz singer Julie London, Jacintha gives the listening audience a stunning and beautiful collection of performances that is sure to attract …
Joe Harley and Ying Tan have brought out the reissue of this 1981 collection, and it is good they did, for this is a stellar collection of performances by Rosemary Clooney …
Stacey Kent is a wonderfully relaxed jazz vocalist, with a sweet intimacy that comes across to the listening audience in clear, poignant feeling. There is a conversational …
Midnight is the latest release from the great jazz vocalist Diane Schuur. Schuur’s voice, as always, is rich and engaging. Unfortunately, the material on this disc more oft…
01 May
The Ultimate Diva Collection by Various Artists
Thursday, 01 May 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Songs from 16 of the greatest women jazz singers are brought together on Verve’s "The Ultimate Diva Collection."The CD features the Holy Trinity of Ella, Sarah and Billi…
Lizz Wright’s debut release, "Salt," is one of the year’s big surprises.The 23-year-old, Georgia native skillfully integrates jazz with a dose of rhythm and blues and a …
29 Apr
Under The Moon by Barbara Sfraga
Tuesday, 29 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Under The Moon, the new album from vocalist Barbara Sfraga, is a stunning portrait of an amazing talent. This is only her second release as a leader, but it clearly shows t…
29 Apr
A Little Moonlight by Dianne Reeves
Tuesday, 29 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Dianne Reeves has said that each of her albums is an expression of her life at the time it was recorded, culminating in fierce intensity with Art and Survival, on wh…
28 Apr
Couldnt Be Hotter by Manhattan Transfer
Monday, 28 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
I've always felt that the Manhattan Transfer has been sort of taken for grantedin popular music circles. They are almost too good. For decades now they have epitomized the …
23 Apr
Love Locked Out by Patti Wicks
Wednesday, 23 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
In a few short years, MAXJAZZ has built an impressive discography of previously overlooked artists, like Carla Cook, who have flowered under the auspices of the label. As M…
When I listened to Ellen Demos sing for the first time I thought.... she sounds like a cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Flora Purim. Her light as a feather vocals ring out…
15 Apr
The State of Bliss by Karin Plato
Tuesday, 15 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Plato the philosopher was known for his attacks on art. Karin Plato on the other hand does art, (in this instance jazz), a great favor with a fine approach to the vocal asp…
Established Swedish vocalist Jeanette Lindstrom has garnered attention from around the world. For many years, audiences in Canada, The United States, Japan and Europe have …
12 Apr
Rain Sometimes by Pinky Winters
Saturday, 12 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Without question Pinky Winters is the consummate ballad singer in the jazz world today. Her tone is exquisite in its smoothness, clarity and unabashed sensuality. Each word…
11 Apr
Remembering Patsy Cline by Various Artists
Friday, 11 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
There has always been a certain amount of Balkanization in music, particularly popular music. So-and-so is a 'rock' performer; X is a 'punk' band, Y plays 'country.' A revi…
The provocative cover art on this CD suggests a torrid vocal trip within, and the message is confirmed with the evocative style of Miss Dawn Aitken. Sultry and sensual is t…
10 Apr
A Hundred Million Miracles by Daryl Sherman
Thursday, 10 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Daryl Sherman could be called a perpetual celebrant. The New York pianist / vocalist has a definite ear for quality and her CDs always seem to pay tribute to legendary comp…
Buddy Blue was a member of The Beat Farmers, a pretty cool, somewhat ahead-of-their-time 80s roots-rock outfit, but even then he was a fan of old-school jazz, one who lamen…
09 Apr
When I Close My Eyes by Ann Dyer
Wednesday, 09 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
With the release of When I Close My Eyes, Ann Dyer has confirmed yet again, as if confirmation were even necessary at this point in her career, that she is one of th…
07 Apr
The Men in My Life by Jackie Allen
Monday, 07 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
With the distribution of The Men in My Life, the greater listening public beyond Chicago, where Jackie Allen performs, gets to enjoy the work of a singer who invests…
05 Apr
Cassandra Reed by Cassandra Reed
Saturday, 05 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
First of all, let me say the self-titled CD entitled 'Cassandra Reed' is not your typical vocal jazz recording; however, it does have its moments where there is a se…
Here is a vocalist of impeccable style and control. Lina Nyberg is one of a new breed of singer who makes each tune her own. All but one of the compositions are written by …
01 Apr
Rene Marie Live at the Jazz Standard by Rene' Marie
Tuesday, 01 April 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Because vocalist Rene Marie’s new disc "Live at the Jazz Standard" doesn’t have liner notes it’s unknown what inspired her to make a live recording of eleven songs--eight s…
Single-handedly, Kurt Elling has reinvigorated the art of vocalese, and popularized it, as no other singer, male or female, has in decades. With unpredictability, intellect…
28 Mar
Nowhere Without You by Eric Felten
Friday, 28 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Trombonist Eric Felten has kept some pretty heavy company in the past. His debut disc T-Bop featured an as-yet-unsigned Joshua Redman on tenor saxophone. Gratitud…
Jazz and country music are half-siblings. Both are uniquely American forms. Both derive from folk music associated with people on the cultural fringes (jazz from African-Am…
Only a year has passed since Mandy Lagan's debut CD, I Thought About You and a second recording reached the street in early June. The new project is titled
The highlight of this recording is the extended Tenor solo of Mike Murley on "Jake's Lament:" The saxophone managed to convey his message despite the rebarbative slapping b…
20 Mar
The Diane Marino Quartet..A Sleepin Bee by Diane Marino
Thursday, 20 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
This album offers everything the Jazz cognoscenti could wish for and then some. Diane Marino goes from the fast moving "This Can't Be Love" to the chanson noir sadness o…
19 Mar
The Incomparable Mildred Bailey by Mildred Bailey
Wednesday, 19 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Writer Gary Giddins referred to iconic uber-crooner Bing Crosby as the first truly hip American white guy - but to whom does history say is the first hip white dame/lady? T…
17 Mar
Laura Martier And The John Toomey Quartet..Intersection by Laura Martier
Monday, 17 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
VSOJAZ Records in Virginia Beach has produced yet another fine recording with Laura Martier and The John Toomey Quartet. Miss Martier has the timing of a fine watch and …
On her ninth album for Justin Time, St. Louis native Jeri Brown, who now lives in Quebec and recorded in New York, has, as have many others artists deeply affected by post-…
13 Mar
When The Sun Goes Down: Poor Mans Heaven by Various Artists
Thursday, 13 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
The funny thing about History is nobody remembers it - or more to the point, they don’t teach the really good stuff in schools. Take this disc, f’r instance. History tells …
Denise Montana with her silky, sensual voice lights up the darkness night with joy, and she sings with such sensitivity that the jazz listening audience will be enchanted w…
An all star lineup of Guitarists and the easy vocal style of Diane Hubka makes this recording a most delightful listening experience. Miss Hubka has the exceptional ability…
It’s only half-way through 2003 and I’ve already got my pick for best jazz vocal release of the year. Ann Dyer’s When I Close My Eyes is, quite simply, an exceptiona…
05 Mar
What The World Needs Now Is Love by Laura Theodore
Wednesday, 05 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
A lively vocalist by any standard, blessed with a charismatic style, Laura Theodore will find many new fans with the release of her CD collection, WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW …
03 Mar
The Essential Frank Sinatra by Frank Sinatra
Monday, 03 March 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
What can one say about Ol’ Blue Eyes that hasn’t already been said? Ah, but there are generations coming up that only know The Voice - Mr. Sinatra to you, mac - as the Chai…
There are certain singers that immediately put the listener at ease. This is the case with Michele Anastasio whose clarity of tone, enunciation and God given ability to sta…
27 Feb
Rosemary Clooney / Marian McPartlands Piano Jazz by Rosemary Clooney
Thursday, 27 February 2003
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Jazz Vocals - CD Reviews
Hearing this CD is like listening to two long lost friends catching up. Lucky for us, the two are Rosemary Clooney and Marian McPartland.The recording dates back to 1991…