For Madonna, pop music is the canvas of her greatest aspiration. While some critics might be ready to write her off, BEDTIME STORIES reasserts Madonna’s claim to the R&B/dance floor turf she ceded to others as her own productions became elaborately self-conscious. And where performers like R. Kelly filled the breach with risque, sexually explicit fare, BEDTIME STORIES marks Madonna’s return to a more stylized, elegant form of R&B....
After a stylistic detour with 2007’s DESTINATION MOON, on which Deborah Cox paid tribute to jazz and classic-pop vocal legend Dinah Washington, the Canadian chanteuse returns to her natural R&B milieu on THE PROMISE. Working with a selection of top-tier collaborators (John Legend, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis), Cox delivers a set of eminently smooth yet impassioned music which alternates between hip-hop-style jams (“Saying Goodbye”) and neo-soul fare (“You Know Where My Heart Is”). On “Did You Ever Love Me,” the singer reveals the benefits of briefly leaving one’s comfort zone, combining modern production with a vocal that recalls Washington’s best torch songs....
CHANTAL CHAMBERLAND NOMINATED -FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR – CANADIAN SMOOTH JAZZ AWARDSElegance and sensuality mingle in the music of smoky-voiced chanteuse Chantal Chamberland. Smooth as a dry martini and equally intoxicating, Chamberland’s third album DRIPING INDIGO cements her role as one of the best interpreters of classic songbook favorites. Two factors set Chamberland’s music apart from the pack. First, the arrangements are slow and sexy relying on a small jazz ensemble for backing (piano, sax, bass, light rhythm). Secondly is her luscious voice, which caresses the listener with a breathy purr throughout the album. With a repertoire that features “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and ” How Deep Is Your Love,” the album slowly seduces with its corner jazz club ambience and torch singer grace....
One of Finland’s brightest musical talents, this is Lyytinen’s boldest, freshest and most varied effort yet. She features a wider range of song styles than ever before. To do this, she enlisted the help of the musicians who know her best – here she is accompanied by her own road band after a pair of CDs she recorded with session players. She mixes hard-edged blues with modern R&B and also showcases her knack for delicate, poppy melodies....
Once again, the Beninese diva rakes off to keep her title as queen of world music and offers a very beautiful album.
The Beninese singer has been taking her muse on holiday recently, with albums inspired by Brazil and the Caribbean. But her eighth album is reminiscent of her fourth, Oremi, on which she investigated African-American grooves. So here we get Africanised versions of Move on Up, Cold Sweat, I’ve Got Dreams to Remember and Baby, I Love You — all good, but you never forget the inspirations. More interesting is a vocal version of Santana’s Samba Pa Ti, while the African covers are better yet.
World-music purists may well turn up their noses, but the Beninese singer’s celebration of her musical roots turns out to be a magnificently upbeat marriage of African tradition and western pop. Kidjo’s inspired version of James Brown’s Cold Sweat is one of the most exhilarating performances she has ever put on record. The spirit of Miriam Makeba hovers over the lullaby Lakutshona Llanga, and the American jazz-soul diva Dianne Reeves joins in the Aretha-esque testifying on Baby, I Love You. Kidjo even honours Sidney Bechet with the tender lyrics of Petite Fleur. The world is awash with bloodless X Factor wannabes; Kidjo reminds you what a real voice sounds like....
The St. Louis-based jazz vocalist Erin Bode’s second album builds on the American Songbook interpretations of her first release with a collection of self-penned originals, as well as covers of Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years,” and the standard “Alone Together.” Her accompanying trio provides a supple, subtle accompaniment on this down-tempo set of ballads....
Laleh Pourkarim (born June 10, 1982 in Iran) is a Swedish singer-songwriter of Iranian origin. She came to Sweden when she was 12 and went to school in Gothenburg. She personally produced and wrote her 2005 eponymous debut album. At the Swedish Grammis Awards for 2005, she received seven nominations and won three: Artist of the Year, Producer of the Year, and New Artist of the Year....
Usher
Shirley Bassey
Mary J. Blige
Dionne Warwick
Joe Cocker
