Nat “King” Cole endured more than his share of scorn and rebuke from all manner of fans and critics. He wasn’t jazzy enough to satisfy many, not white enough to please the pop cultural obsession with Anglo- and Euro-American stardom. In answer to all of this, Cole simply proceeded, crooning beautifully even after he’d walked away from the piano and become primarily a vocal sensation. This 1956 collection is famous as Cole’s riposte to the critique that he wasn’t jazzy. ...
The myth that Columbia Records producers kept Aretha from finding her soul on disc has largely been discredited, and albums such as the 1964 Unforgettable are a big reason why. Working with a small, surprisingly tough rhythm section, Franklin delivers highly personalized renditions of 10 songs associated with the great Dinah Washington, who’d passed just months before. The material ranges from pop standards to Hank Williams and Bessie Smith numbers, paralleling Aretha’s own eclecticism. This CD edition also includes “Lee Cross,” a hip, joyous single cut at the sessions....
Elizabeth Cook’s last album, the Rodney Crowell-produced Balls, was straight up Dolly-worshippin’ country, full of stretchy peddle steel and yodel-peppered sass. But if Balls was chilled-in-the-box strawberry wine, Welder is mulberry-flavored moonshine: homemade, delicious and completely unsanitary....
Grace Potter means business. She lets you know from the get go with the first “UH!” on her band’s new self titled album, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. This isn’t some poppy, Adult Alternative record; it’s a gritty, passionate affair with swagger, soul and plenty of classic rock influences....
After 30-plus years with Columbia Records, Miles Davis departed to sign with Warner Brothers Records. TUTU finds Miles entering the world of MIDI, chaperoned by former sideman, Marcus Miller and pop jazz hitmaker Tommy LiPuma, and beat box music would never be the same again.
TUTU is the birth of a new kind of cool, based on the emblematic street beats of the mid-1980s, brimming over with orchestrally-styled keyboard programming. The album is a showcase for Miles’ evocative muted horn, functioning like a featured vocalist. Not since his work with Gil Evans had Miles deferred so much to a collaborator, and TUTU is a platform for the arranging talents of Miller, who in addition to his distinctive, popping bass lines, plays nearly every instrument on the session–from keyboards to bass clarinet....
‘The House’ is Katie Melua’s new, and fourth, album and sees the 25 year old drawing from a broad pool of inspiration to write and record an album that is both musically adventurous and lyrically expressive.
Whilst Katie’s previous three albums, ‘Call Off The Search’, ‘Piece By Piece’ and ‘Pictures’, established her as an extraordinarily gifted vocalist – after her concert at London’s O2 Arena The Times wrote “her voice is rarely short of astounding” – ‘The House’ reveals an artist’s desire to evolve and explore. The record is produced by William Orbit, who came out of his self-imposed retirement as a producer to work with Katie....
Eric Clapton’s live performance on MTV’s strip-down-the-rockers show allowed the heavily-blues-influenced guitarist a chance to show off another, underrated side of his talent–his voice.
It’s especially interesting to hear Clapton in an acoustic setting, because he made his mark as one of the early proponents of high-decibel rock. Here, sorting through numerous blues standards by the likes of Robert Johnson and Leadbelly, Clapton gives a lesson in technique, style and musical passion. His own, newer material allows him to stretch and play, while the heavily-grooved, slowed-down remake of his classic “Layla” is the essential standout. “Tears In Heaven,” a moving tribute to his son’s passing, is emotionally raw, yet stylistically smooth–a difficult task to achieve....
Diana Krall’s first studio outing since she and husband Elvis Costello became the proud parents of twin boys, 2009′s QUIET NIGHTS finds the jazz singer/pianist turning in a serene and pleasantly subdued set. Krall breezes through a few bossa nova standards, most notably “The Girl from Ipanema” (here gender-reversed to “The Boy…”) and the title track (originally “Corcovado”), both penned by the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim. QUIET NIGHTS isn’t solely a Brazilian-themed outing, however, as Krall also spends plenty of time in the comfortable realm of the Great American Songbook, offering up elegant orchestral renditions of “I’ve Grown Accustomed to His Face” and the Bacharach/David gem “Walk On By” that benefit from her supremely smoky vocals and graceful delivery....
