Flippin' Out [CD]

Charmaine Clamor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: CD
• Label: FreeHam Records
• ASIN: B000QXCZPY
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,580 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and Sexy - A Must Have!, August 17, 2007

By 

D. Chackler "soul patrol" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flippin' Out (Audio CD)

I was lucky enough to get my hands on this album before it was available through Amazon. I loved it so much that I went back and bought her first album "Searching for the Soul", for which I posted a review urging everyone to check it out. Since "Flippin Out" is now available, I figure I may as well do the same here! So, here goes...

This is the perfect album for a bottle of red wine, a roaring fire, and someone special at your side. Extremely sensual performances from an extremely appealing young woman. "Flippin' Out" is a milestone type recording in which the seeds of a new musical genre are being sown. Charmaine Clamor calls it "jazzipino." I simply call it great music. This may be my favorite recording of 2007. What a singer, and what a band.

I was first attracted to this recording by the musicians, who are best known as the Grammy-winning trio that supports the superb Tierney Sutton. Once again, Christian Jacob, Ray Henry, and Ray Brinker show why they're the best such unit working in jazz music. They really shine. The singer they back here, Charmaine Clamor, could not be more different than Ms. Sutton. Where Sutton is clean, Clamor is dirty; where Sutton is angelic, Clamor is down low. But one thing is consistent: musicality of the highest level. I especially liked Clamor's sense of playfulness and mischief, as on "Candy" and "Sugar in My Bowl." And I felt the Filipino chanting was quite authentic, even though I have not previously heard this type of thing. I believe Sutton and Clamor would make an excellent double-bill, two ends of the musical spectrum brought together by a phenomenal band.

Finally, the song selection on "Flippin Out" is nothing short of remarkable. You get a U2 song, you get Filipino folk songs, you get Nina Simone, you get Keith Jarrett -- and they're all done in a completely original way. What a voice! Charmaine Clamor is my new favorite singer. I can't wait for more.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Vocalist Who Creates Her Own Category, August 29, 2007

By 

Bran (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flippin' Out (Audio CD)

Politically incorrect as this sounds, the first time I heard Charmaine Clamor's voice on my local radio station, I made some (inaccurate) assumptions about her ethnic background. She has so much soul in her voice that I was picturing something very different from the beautiful lady on this CD! Finding out she is in fact Filipino blows my mind. I am Asian myself, so I feel qualified to say I have never heard an Asian woman sing with this strong of a connection to American blues and soul and swing. Charmaine really reminds me of Sarah Vaughan and Cassandra Wilson -- but she has something original about her, too: her Filipino heritage, which she explores with great pride on "Flippin' Out."

For me the heart of this CD is Charmaine's "Filipino Suite," where she sings in her native language of Tagalog. The word that keeps coming back to me is "haunting." Even if you don't understand her language, I predict she will give you goosebumps. The sincerity of her expression is that powerful. Her take on "My Funny Valentine," which she has rewritten as "My Funny Brown Pinay" is probably the most original and personal version of the song I've ever heard. It's a statement!

The band on this record swings like crazy. They should! Many of them play with the great Tierney Sutton, who, like Charmaine, has a very strong and personal point of view, a great jazz originality. The difference is Charmaine has so much soul...I just can't get over it.

"Flippin' Out" is one of the best recordings of the year, in my opinion. It's a journey with a real emotional arc. When you finish -- with the great Mario Lanza song "Be My Love" done as a whispery ballad -- it makes you want to start all over again.

Not sure what category Charmaine belongs in: jazz? world? blues? pop? folk? Maybe the highest compliment is that with this CD she's creating her very own category.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charmed, November 30, 2007

By 

DGH (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flippin' Out (Audio CD)

Early in the morning of Sunday, November 11, Charmaine Clamor stopped me dead in my tracks. I had listened to "Weekend Edition" on NPR on my way to my neighborhood coffee shop. Will Shortz's puzzle had ended as I pulled into a parking space, and as I was about to turn off the radio, I heard Charmaine Clamor's voice. I didn't much move for the next ten minutes.

The best review I can write about this remarkable jazz singer is to direct you to the NPR online archive. Listen to Liane Hansen's interview. Listen to the samples of Charmaine's "jazzipino" music, to her low, strong, beautiful swing. Listen to Charmaine's remarkable story, hear the emotion that comes through when she speaks almost as much as it does when she she sings. Then just try not to buy this CD.