Modern day female jazz recommendations


We all know the classics from decades ago. What are your favorite your more contemporary female jazz singers of today?

Living close to Nashville I have the opportunity to see and hear a lot of up and coming artists. Nashville is NOT just country music by a long shot.

I'll start with Diana Krall....
dean_fuller
Carmen Gomes Inc. ; ''Little Blue'' the long awaited follow up to the young audiophile classic ''Thousand Shades of Blue'' is stunningly beautiful rainy day music.
Maybe my favorite download for 2015.
Sound Liaison;Little Blue
Halie Loren certainly has a velvet voice. Two others if not already mentioned:

Kasia Lins "Take My Tears"- HiRez Recording from Linn - Great new talent - Excellent recoding quality.

Cecil McLorin Salvant "Women Child" - Redbook CD version is a superb recording
Been listening to Haley Loren out of OR. Great range of song choices, good original music, good players, big in Japan. Also, Rachael Price out of Boston. Great voice singing jazz and cabaret and blues.
Not new but not well known, Maria Rita out of Brazil. Sings in Portuguese. The daughter of some big time Brazilian artists.
Lastly, have become a big Tiernry Sutton fan. Three octave voice out if LA. She is a teacher at USC Music School. Great technically but with feeling. Done a number of CDs including jazz arrangements of American folk songs like Shenandoah.
Connie Evingson, Her Stockholm Sweetnin', done mostly in Sweden, is even better than Gypsy In My Soul. Anyone hear her latest Django collaboration?
Dianne Reaves
Best album ''Bridges''

[img]http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0001/765/MI0001765216.jpg?partner=allrovi.com[/img]
One thing different about Kat Edmondsonis that she sometimes takes an old standard and does it with a modern approach, then will take a "more recent" (post-50's) pop tune and do it like an old standard. It works for me, YMMV.
Carmen Gomes on youtube.
Finally there are some youtube examples from the Carmen Gomes
Sound Liaison downloads, not as good as the "real thing" but they do give a good impression of these amazingly well recorded albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URSHcAbqeKs
Lyn Stanley's "Lost in Romance" is quite a gem to behold. Gives me goosebumps every time I spin it.
I heard her live in NYC in a tiny, tiny venue. I was one of only a couple of non-Koreans in the audience.
Since this thread is active again, let me recommend Voyage by Youn Sun Nah. Her other albums are good, but this one is great.
After hearing her CD at my local audio store last weekend, I was going to add: Cecile Mclorin Salvant's "Woman Child" to the list. However, Jazdoc obviously beat me to it.

My audio dealer, a performing symphonic cellist, couldn't wait to show-off the "Woman Child" CD provided to him by one of his clients. I heard the recording on a pair of well-setup Vandersteen's Model 7's (Mark's setups are always 1st.rate), which didn't at all hurt the presentation (grin). Having never heard of Ms Mclorin Salvant, I too was mesmerized and amazed by her vocal range and abilities!

Thus, I must overwhelmingly second Jazdoc's recommendation! The recording is pretty darn good also. But if it was less than stellar (and it's not), I would nevertheless recommend that you give a listen to this young lady!
First, as a new member let me first complement one and all who have added to this thread. Surprisingly, I see no mention of the late great Anita O'Day so if you have not listened to her or had forgotten her, please give a listen. One of the great ones by any standard. Now on to the modern era, please check out Nicole Henry from Miami. My favorite album has her backed by the late Eddie Higgins on piano. Cheryl Bentyne, perhaps best known for her work in the Manhattan Transfer, has done some dynamite solo albums focusing on Gershwin in one, Porter in another and so on. Highly recommended. Although mentioned earlier in this thread, I think the recommendation too measured, there is no need to not declare Maria Muldaur perhaps the greatest current female vocalist of the American Song Book. She can sing jazz and does with flair, and blues and gospel and on and on. No need for excuses, she deserves our attention.
Diana Krall's best hits album is really good. Melody Gardot and Madeliene Peyroux are also great. Heather Rigdon is another great singer who is not very well known.
Cecile McLorin Salvant's debut LP "Woman Child" is spectacular and well recorded. Highly recommended. Really bummed that I had to work during her last visit to Seattle.

http://www.mackavenue.com/artists/detail/cecile_mclorin_salvant/
Carmen Gomes is on the top of my list.
The Naim forum members voted her ''Thousand Shades of Blue'' album one of the top audiophile downloads of 2013.
They are giving the title track away as a free Studio Master
Wav download at the Sound Liaison site at the moment:
http://soundliaison.com
'Her style is bluesy and intimate with a sexy voice that's sweet as dark tupelo honey, and her interpretations are unerring. this intimate effort is one of the best and best-sounding jazz vocal albums to come along in many a day.''
"I've seldom heard recordings that were so successful in both performance and sound aspects.''
quotes from Rad Bennett's review in the audiophile SoundStage! Magazine.
There is a nice little video of the title track on you tube,
not the same version as on the album but pretty close and you see the the Sound Liaison engineer Frans de Rond in action. Carmen Gomes
Carmen Gomes is my favourite at the moment.
Rad Bennett from Sound Stage wrote a great review on her and on the new Sound Liaison label.
http://www.soundliaison.com
I've been among the prophets saying that high-resolution downloads are the future of audiophile music sales. Surely it will benefit the majors to make high-quality downloads a first choice rather than an MP3 extra, but I believe that individual artists can benefit as well. Most new-to-the-scene performers have little money for middlemen and disc manufacture, yet can get things together for the Internet.

Frans de Rond and Peter Bjørnild have taken this approach with Sound Liaison, producing recordings available only in 24-bit/96kHz downloads that mirror the master recording. And man, are they ever sweet. I've seldom heard recordings that were so successful in both performance and sound aspects.

De Rond hails from the Netherlands, where he studied double bass at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague while concurrently studying recording techniques. Bjørnild also studied double bass, moving to the Netherlands to continue studies at The Hague. Since graduating, he has played almost every type of music, from classical to jazz. Together de Rond and Bjørnild bring two pairs of golden ears to their label. Bjørnild claims that, "a recording should be as realistic and beautiful sounding as possible. As if, when closing your eyes, you find yourself in the best seat in the hall."

The partners discovered a fine recording hall (Studio-Eleven, Hilversum) and set out to record amazing musicians in this great acoustic place in front of live audiences. It's a daring feat; one take and no place to hide, but the abilities of the musicians involved make it seem easy. I chose to talk about the first album by Carmen Gomes Inc. It was a tough choice because all of the three current albums were worthy of review.

Carmen Gomes has won many awards in the Netherlands and surrounding areas. Like so many new European singers, she sings in English -- excellent English, I might add. She's formed a group called Carmen Gomes Inc., with Folker Tettero on guitar, Peter Bjørnild on double bass, and Marcel van Engelen on drums. Her style is bluesy and intimate with a sexy voice that's sweet as dark tupelo honey, and her interpretations are unerring. The musicians play to her and to each other, and the ensemble is so tight that the four musicians breathe and move as one.

There are some standards on the set that knocked me over with their fresh approach. Any singer can misplace a few accents and rhythms and come up with something that's original, but perhaps also uneasy and a little strange. Not Gomes, who has taken the songs to their bones and then restructured them to suit her style. Thus "Fever" doesn't sound like a cover of Peggy Lee; it sounds like a brand new take on a familiar song. You emerge from hearing it not thinking it's better or lesser than Lee's version, but that it's a valid new interpretation that could have come first.

The same approach works on "Angel Eyes," "You Don't Know What Love Is," and "I'm on Fire." Most of the rest, including the title song, "Oblivion," "Time Will Tell," "Gasoa Blue," and "The Sea," are Gomes originals that fit right in with the standards. The recording achieves exactly what Bjørnild set out as his goal. It can provide the best seat in your listening room. Go to the Sound Liaison site, listen to a few samples, download an album, and see if you don't agree that this intimate effort is one of the best and best-sounding jazz vocal albums to come along in many a day. By the way, the small audience applauds enthusiastically enough after the last chords of a song die away, but the attendees never interrupt or make themselves known while a song is going on. No doubt they were completely mesmerized into silence, as was I.

Be sure to listen to: On "Dock of the Bay," Gomes creates a languid, bluesy version that is a little bit reminiscent of Bobbie Gentry while still coming across as quite original. It'll cast a spell over you.

. . . Rad Bennett
Thanks, some great suggestions so far!
Here's a few more that I didn't see mentioned:

Halie Loren-- Album--Heart First: Songs-- " C'est Si Bon & Feeling Good"

Sophie Milman-- Album--Make Someone Happy

Anne Bisson-- Album--Blue Mind

Mina Agossi-- Album--Zaboum (Very Good Recording, especially of instrumental timbre).
Mina Agossi--Album--Simple Things (also good recording, nice vocals too)

Enjoy,
Rich
yeah!
Carmen Gomes absolutely fantastic.
here is a you tube link from recording in studio 11,
although it is not the same version as on the "Thousand Shades of Blue"download as far as I can hear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXypZsHO4XQ
Carmen Gomes on Sound Liaison
this linh should work,please google soundliaison if the link doesn't work,the site is valid.
http://www.soundliaison.com
check out this review from Sound Stage;
I've been among the prophets saying that high-resolution downloads are the future of audiophile music sales. Surely it will benefit the majors to make high-quality downloads a first choice rather than an MP3 extra, but I believe that individual artists can benefit as well. Most new-to-the-scene performers have little money for middlemen and disc manufacture, yet can get things together for the Internet.

Frans de Rond and Peter Bjørnild have taken this approach with Sound Liaison, producing recordings available only in 24-bit/96kHz downloads that mirror the master recording. And man, are they ever sweet. I've seldom heard recordings that were so successful in both performance and sound aspects.

De Rond hails from the Netherlands, where he studied double bass at The Royal Conservatory in The Hague while concurrently studying recording techniques. Bjørnild also studied double bass, moving to the Netherlands to continue studies at The Hague. Since graduating, he has played almost every type of music, from classical to jazz. Together de Rond and Bjørnild bring two pairs of golden ears to their label. Bjørnild claims that, "a recording should be as realistic and beautiful sounding as possible. As if, when closing your eyes, you find yourself in the best seat in the hall."

The partners discovered a fine recording hall (Studio-Eleven, Hilversum) and set out to record amazing musicians in this great acoustic place in front of live audiences. It's a daring feat; one take and no place to hide, but the abilities of the musicians involved make it seem easy. I chose to talk about the first album by Carmen Gomes Inc. It was a tough choice because all of the three current albums were worthy of review.

Carmen Gomes has won many awards in the Netherlands and surrounding areas. Like so many new European singers, she sings in English -- excellent English, I might add. She's formed a group called Carmen Gomes Inc., with Folker Tettero on guitar, Peter Bjørnild on double bass, and Marcel van Engelen on drums. Her style is bluesy and intimate with a sexy voice that's sweet as dark tupelo honey, and her interpretations are unerring. The musicians play to her and to each other, and the ensemble is so tight that the four musicians breathe and move as one.

There are some standards on the set that knocked me over with their fresh approach. Any singer can misplace a few accents and rhythms and come up with something that's original, but perhaps also uneasy and a little strange. Not Gomes, who has taken the songs to their bones and then restructured them to suit her style. Thus "Fever" doesn't sound like a cover of Peggy Lee; it sounds like a brand new take on a familiar song. You emerge from hearing it not thinking it's better or lesser than Lee's version, but that it's a valid new interpretation that could have come first.

The same approach works on "Angel Eyes," "You Don't Know What Love Is," and "I'm on Fire." Most of the rest, including the title song, "Oblivion," "Time Will Tell," "Gasoa Blue," and "The Sea," are Gomes originals that fit right in with the standards. The recording achieves exactly what Bjørnild set out as his goal. It can provide the best seat in your listening room. Go to the Sound Liaison site, listen to a few samples, download an album, and see if you don't agree that this intimate effort is one of the best and best-sounding jazz vocal albums to come along in many a day. By the way, the small audience applauds enthusiastically enough after the last chords of a song die away, but the attendees never interrupt or make themselves known while a song is going on. No doubt they were completely mesmerized into silence, as was I.

Be sure to listen to: On "Dock of the Bay," Gomes creates a languid, bluesy version that is a little bit reminiscent of Bobbie Gentry while still coming across as quite original. It'll cast a spell over you.

. . . Rad Bennett
Carmen Gomes.2 audiophile albums out as downloads only on Sound Liaison:Torn and Thousand Shades of Blue.
I.m.o the best sounding vocal albums available.
She has made more audiophile albums in the past but the
Sound Liaison albums are the ones to go for.
These albums has everything an audiophile album should have;
placement,depth,space,intimacy...and it's possible to listen to the tracks before buying.Only problem is that they make some of my older audiophile tracks seem not up to date anymore.
http://www.soundliaison.com
Karen Allyson by a mile, unlike Barber she can actually sing, unlike Krall she can actually keep time.
Holly Cole and for someone more obscure Youn Sun Nah (especially her CD Voyages)
For the chronically depressed neurotic nerdy intellectual nothing will ever beat a Jungr, Barber, or Wilson :)
Luciana Souza. The first Brazillian Duos is a favorite. I haven't heard the third
Jazz: Flora Purim, Joan Armadrading
Rock: Grace Slick, Chrissie Hynde
Classical: Kiri Te Kanawa, Beverly Sills
Avant Garde: Laurie Anderson, Cyndi Lauper

Geeze, guys, this is one tough nut!
I'll gladly nominate two vocalists that should be put on any list: Flora Purim and Joan Armatrading. Purim's effortless improvisations on Chick Corea's "Return to Forever" are inspired and deft. Armatrading, likewise, excels with vocals that are spot on in terms of power and intonation. Anyone who enjoys good music and performance that is professionally wrought and competently handled should give these two songbirds high marks for agility, song-craft, and for putting soul back into the music.
-Rachelle Ferrell - "First Instrument." More upbeat. Two mellow songs, one beautifully written and played on piano by her. She has a really incredible voice which refers to the album title.
-Dianne Reeves - "I Remember." A simply great one from Dianne!!
This stuff kills me in such a good way!!
Eliane Elias - "Everything I love." I found this while searching for albums in which Bassist Christian Mcbride plays on.
Eliane is a Brazilian pianist and also sings on half of the cuts.
I am REALLY in love with this one!!
Old threads never die...
Not jazz. Just having a new love affair with Brandi Carlile.
Discovered her watching Austin City Limits featuring Roseanne Cash, she was the second artist. Extraordinary voice, songwriting. Love to listen to "Oh Dear" on that show. Try to catch that one, try her.

Another non jazz pic would be Nina Hagen. She can sound like just about anything she wants and does. Find, if you dare, "Nunsexmonkrock" for an insane 40 mins of headphone euphoria. Not for the faint of heart or the unadventurous.
Karrin Allyson (my latest female obssession outside of my wife). Check out "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane" for straight jazz songs, and "Imagina" for Brazil/Bossa Nova songs. Both are to die for.
There is an NPR issue CD called "Modern Jazz Divas" that I bought for some new exposure in this area and is worth a listen
Diane Schuur....any of her albums, especially the GRP ones (Grusin Rosen Production) are fantastically-recorded.
Her vocals are natural, unforced, and so realistically recorded, and her songs are wonderful to listen to. Wonderful orchestra backing that's exceptionally well-recorded.

You must try "New York".