8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable, extraordinary talent!, February 27, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: For Heavens Sake (Audio CD)
I had the opportunity to hear this remarkable Latina jazz singer perform with Clark Terry at the Monterey Jazz Festival and again in London at Ronnie Scott's Club. What a talent! She's got it all--great range, passion, brilliant choices of material that she makes her own. Brazilian, Portuguese, rare jazz gems, sassy blues. This CD captures it well. I recommend it for anyone interested Jazz. A true joy to listen to!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A noteworthy first effort, July 23, 2004
This review is from: For Heavens Sake (Audio CD)
In my view, Jackie Ryan is one of the finest jazz singers out there, and without question the most underrated at this time. I write this with the benefit of having listened repetitively to "Passion Flower" and "This Heart of Mine", two superlative albums. They were her second and third albums, respectively; this was her first, a live album (and who else has ever debuted with a live album, pray tell?)
Truthfully, this album isn't quite as good as the other two (or to spin it another way, Jackie Ryan has grown as an artist in a short time). It's recorded in a small so. Cal. club, away from Ms. Ryan's usual venue of the Bay Area. The piano is a bit out of tune, the drums are too loud relative to the rest, and Ms. Ryan hadn't played very long with this set of musicians before recording. It hit me at 4 and 1/2 level; so the dilemma was whether to downgrade the album to 4 or upgrade it to 5.
I decided on the upgrade. For one, "What a Difference a Day Makes" is wonderful, with an irresistable samba beat and choruses alternating between Spanish and English. Personally, I prefer this to the immortal version of Dinah Washington. And the set-opener, "Someone to Light Up My Life", and the lovely ballad, "Caminhos Cruzados", also get the English-Spanish treatment and both songs work very nicely. For two, my understanding is that Ms. Ryan was sick when she recorded this; she pulls it off amazingly well under those circumstances.
But for three, and what finally put me over the top, is that the 2004 Down Beat critics poll didn't even mention Ms. Ryan in the "rising star" category. Not even a mention! "Boo", I say, "boo"!! I vote 5 stars out of protest to these people who allegedly know more than I do. She ought to be in the top 3 or 4 in that category, IMO
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