05 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
Simply Bossa
Adriana Rios was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At the age of eight, she moved to the United States and divided her time between the two countries. She began her classical music studies at the age of eleven, playing the flute, and continued until she entered university. She graduated with honors from The College of William and Mary, (Va. USA) with a degree in Latin American Studies and left the US for Europe. There, she returned to her musical inclinations, singing, playing the flute and percussion with different Brazilian music groups in numerous jazz clubs in various cities of Greece, Italy, and France....
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Adriana Rios, Bossa, Female Vocal, Jazz, Simply Bossa
29 October 2009
By Lyov
In Jazz
Bare Bones
Following two acclaimed albums largely composed of covers and standards, mercurial jazz-pop singer Madeleine Peyroux has created her first album consisting entirely of original songs. Working with her longtime producer and bandleader Larry Klein, along with other co-writers including Steely Dan’s Walter Becker, Joe Henry, and second-generation jazz guitarist Julian Coryell, Peyroux has done a remarkable job of maintaining the sound and mood of her earlier work. Highlights include the opening acoustic shuffle “Instead,” a perky bit of affirmation that showcases Peyroux’s startlingly Billie Holiday-like phrasing, while the atypically rough-edged “You Can’t Do Me” takes a page from Cat Power’s recent fusions of Memphis soul and indie rock desperation...
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Bare Bones, Blues, Female Vocal, female vocalists, Jazz, Madeleine Peyroux, singer-songwriter, Voca, vocal jazz
27 October 2009
By Lyov
In Jazz
Alone With You
Swedish singer Rigmor Gustafsson’s three previous ACT recordings have all concentrated on other composers’ material and all had titles including the word ‘you’ (On My Way to You, I Will Wait for You and Close to You); this is a departure in that it contains nothing but originals (some co-written), but it continues the appropriately intimate, confessional ‘you’ theme....
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Alone With You, Bop, Female Vocal, Jazz, Rigmor Gustafsson, swing, vocal jazz
22 October 2009
By Lyov
In Jazz
Somethin’ Else
Rachelle Ferrell began singing at the age of six, which contributed to the “development of her startling six and change octave range.” Her range also includes the ability to reach the whistle register, as stated in an editorial review in which she references her whistle note in “It only took a minute” as “Minnie Riperton-like wailing”. She received classical training on violin at an early age and by the time she was a teen, she was able to play the piano at a professional level. She enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston where she honed her musical abilities in arrangement, singing and songwriting....
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Female Vocal, female vocalists, Jazz, jazz vocal, Rachelle Ferrell, Somethin' Else, Soul, vocal jazz
12 October 2009
By Lyov
In Blues, Jazz
Missy Andersen
Here’s a terrific release, courtesy of Betsie Brown at Blind Raccoon in Memphis, of soulful blues from the San Diego-based Missy Andersen – Detroit-born and raised in Queens, New York – a short, but very sweet, eight tracks of classic soul and blues – mainly covers, but with a couple of original songs, all beautifully sung and the band delivering some great grooves! Influenced by her parents record collection, Missy Andersen grew up listening to the likes of Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers and more, later picking up on O.V. Wright, Bobby Bland, James Carr, Ann Peebles, etc., before finding her own voice – and what an impressive voice it is!...
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2009, Blues, Female Vocal, Jazz, Missy Andersen, vocal jazz
11 October 2009
By Lyov
In Jazz
Let It All Out
Let It All Out is one of Nina Simone’s more adult pop-oriented mid-’60s albums, with renditions of tunes by Duke Ellington (“Mood Indigo”), Billie Holiday (“Don’t Explain”), Irving Berlin (“This Year’s Kisses”), and Rodgers & Hart (“Little Girl Blue”). As ever, Simone ranges wide in her selection: Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad of Hollis Brown,” a swaggering adaptation of “Chauffeur Blues” (credited to her husband of the time, Andy Stroud), the gospel hymn “Nearer Blessed Lord,” and Van McCoy’s “For Myself.” “Images” is an a cappella adaptation of a poem about the beauty of blackness by Waring Cuney. All of Simone’s Philips albums are solid, and this is no exception, while it isn’t the best of them. This LP has been combined with the 1965 album Pastel Blues on a single-disc CD reissue...
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Don't Explain, Female Vocal, Jazz, Let It All Out, Nina Simone, vocal jazz
29 September 2009
By Lyov
In Jazz
Abbey Sings Abbey
The repertoire here is drawn from songs the singer has written and recorded previously, but these reinterpretations burn with a fierce intensity all their own. Part of the power comes from the arrangements, which favor accordion, bass, drums, and electric guitar rather than more conventional instrumentation. But it’s Lincoln’s beautiful songs and even more beautiful performances that make ABBEY SINGS ABBEY a must-hear....
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Abbey Lincoln, Abbey Sings Abbey, Female Vocal, vocal jazz
Daniel Merriweather
Disko Partizani
Gelka
Katie Melua
Margie Joseph 
