Echo

Alyssa Graham | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 29, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sunny Side
• ASIN: B001ASIHWO
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #227,941 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

An echo can soothe, and an echo can haunt. In Roman myth, Echo is the beautiful nymph with the musical voice forever calling after a boy in love. Critically-acclaimed Jazz vocalist/Singer-Songwriter Alyssa Graham's new CD, the aptly-titled Echo, is a musical travelogue that traces the arc of a modern-day love affair and infuses it with a mélange of Jazz, Folk and Brazilian rhythms, bound together by the unforgettable timbre of Graham's extraordinary voice. Its eleven tracks reveal musical influences from around the globe, all while maintaining the thematic feel of a deeply personal, well-told and eternal love story. With seven original compositions, four classic songs round out the album, including a delicately yearning version of Paul Simon's "America" that speaks to journeys closer to home. Echo was produced by Jon Cowherd ( The Brian Blade Fellowship, Lizz Wright) and was released July 29th on Sunnyside Records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful voice, beautiful songs, July 31, 2008

By 

MusicFan32 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Echo (Audio CD)

I love Alyssa Graham's voice! "Pictures of You" is a gorgeous love song, and her versions of Paul Simon's "America" and Joao Gilberto's "Izaura" are just stunning. Jazz fans will love this, but any fan of vocalists and great arrangements will too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More excellent jazz-pop from an underrated chanteusse, January 5, 2009

By 

Rick Cornell "RC" (Reno, Nv USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Echo (Audio CD)

Erin Bode is a good "product link" for Alyssa Graham and this c.d. Like Ms. Bode, Sara Gazarek, Jacqui Naylor, Judith Owens, Melody Gardot, Raya Yarbrough, and a few others, Alyssa Graham is a full fledged member of the group of young jazz-pop chanteusses who are gifted and relatively underrated. But Norah Jones broke out of this pack a few years ago, and maybe Alyssa Graham can do likewise.

This c.d. has a few covers, but by and large it's a palette of originals, written primarily by Ms. Graham's "main man," Douglas (guitar), producer Jon Cowherd (piano) and Bryan McCann. And they are really good. The whole album sounds wonderful - not a weak track on the disc. I'm particularly taken with the catchy tunes "Arkansas" and "My Love"; the haunting tune of Sting's, "I Burn for You"; and Cowherd's piano, the highlight for me, on "Involved Again."

(And I love the fact that the musicians have covered Paul Simon's "America." This seems to be among the least covered in the Simon songbook, and I don't know why. Perhaps the c.w. is that the song is "too '60's"; if so, I disagree. The wonderment of the little details around you is as relevant 50 years later as it was then.)

Ms. Graham has a clear, strong voice, ideal for jazz singing.

I believe this is her second release, but first one I'm familiar with. In reviewing this recording, I recall writing sort of a melancholy review 4 years ago on Kate McGarry's release, wondering what do you do when you're a talented young artist who is barely known. 4 years later, Kate has released a Grammy-nominated c.d. There's no reason Alyssa Graham and company couldn't do the same ca. 2012. Here's hoping! RC

5.0 out of 5 stars bossa maior, August 28, 2008

By 

Dom Casmurro - See all my reviews

This review is from: Echo (Audio CD)

Amazing, amazing disc. Responding to previous reviewer: "Izaura" (or Isaura) is not a Joćo Gilberto tune, but an Herivelton Martins and Roberto Roberti composition, first recorded by Francisco Alves in 1945, later recorded by Joćo Gilberto.