Customer Reviews

High Standards

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The first time I saw Weslia was by accident: in 1995 at the Algonquin's famed Oak Room in New York, where she hooked me on cabaret for life. Since that time, she brought a Sinatrafest at Carnegie Hall to a halt... (in a large company of famous cabaret and popular types, SHE stopped the show!) A pure, unpretentious voice that bespeaks scotch'n soda and wisdom borne of life. She can sleaze her way through a show tune with the best of 'em, and you're risking third degree burns letting her near a torch song. (Off her "LIVE" disc, she cut a version of "Too Good to be True" that includes a simple, major arpeggio that is the purest and most plaintive sound I've ever heard from a female voice.) Off this disc, "My Favorite Things" is probably the best known, but you'll find a few gems on the way there that are much more than semi-precious. Worth having in your collection for two reasons: (1) it's great; and (2) Weslia is the only "other woman" my wife'll let me be in love with.

This cd is great because it is, I'm not talking riddles, because I'm not. I love this cd, because I do. Wesla Whitfield is a great singer, because she is. Mike Grinsell is her pianist/arranger because he's talanted, Wesla is a singer because she turns mere lyrics into lyrical bueuties... You will love this cd, because your classy... smart... and witty... I love this cd for all these reasons, and simply because I do... Wesla covers all the great standards, and sings thier veres too(WHAT A TREAT!!!). Thank God, and Praine the Lord for Wesla Whitfield, we ALL love her and her musical talents, GOD gave her. A must buy cd.

It's doubtful that any of Wesla's albums lives up to her own consistently high standards better than this one. Not only is she a paragon of good taste when it comes to selecting tunes but her pellucid, direct approach to melody and lyrics makes her interpretations of the American Songbook definitive and exemplary--suitable points of departure, in fact, for any young musician who may be unfamiliar with this classic material.

Take Cole Porter's "Everything I Love," for example. As personal, delicately harmonized, and ingeniously worded as it is, musicians often injure its uniqueness through overly fast or slow tempos or overly earnest or "flip" readings of the lyrics. Wesla hits it just right, not just with the tempo but the note of romantic parody on the word "everything" followed by a contrasting, utterly sincere declamation of the words "my haven in heaven above." If the performance falls just short of perfection, it's due to the fracturing of the moment caused by the arrangement--a key change followed by an instrumental solo and then, just when Wesla brings back the magic, a disappointing triple tag ending. Not that the support is sub-par. It's just that a vocal performance of this caliber tends to raise one's expectations of everything else on the date.

Mike Grinsell's romantic arrangements fit Wesla so perfectly, his arrangements are both jazzy and slick, but modern yet classic, he's brilliant. Wesla's vocals are full of charisma, she communicates to her audience so well, and the instrumentation is exellent:
Piano
Bass
Drum
A great jazz trio, Ginsells' piano style is GREAT, he will be a jazz legend, and so will Wesla, they make a perfect musical team, and I hope they will make beautiful romantic charismatic jazz together forever... [...]

I love Wesla I had a chance to see her with my parents wehn we went on vacation to San Francisco, she was great. I bought this cd, and I love it. She is a cool and jazzy singer. she is awesome. If I can appreciate this a t 14 years of age, I'm sure you can too.

Wesla's voice and style are very soothing. As her CD jacket asserts, she's difficult to put into a category: jazz or cabaret chanteuse? Who cares? Just listen to her! Her vocal abilities mix beautifully with the instrumentalists on this album to create a rich blend of vocal jazz and ballad. Thankfully she has wonderful control of her vibrato and knows when to use it! Her version of "My Favorite Things" is a treat.

She reminds me of other artists like Cris Williamson and Suede.

Not many singers are worthy of that phrase "jazz diva", but Miss Whitfield is because she has such high standards, she delivers all of her songs(which are jazz standards), with thier original verses. She always is backed by tasteful small jazz combos as led by her husband/pianist/arranger Mike Grinsell, and she improvises lightly, and has a bell like clarity to her singing. She has a style all her own and perfect diction too, those who appriciate good caberet singers, or jazz singers will enjoy this fine set of particularly hugh standards.

This cd is wonderful in everyway.
Where do I begin?

1st of all Wesla Whitfield has a very romantic voice, she improvises but in very subtle ways. Her vocie is like a breath of fresh air on a bright spring day.

2nd her band which is basicly a trio, with her musical director/arranger/husband/pianist Mike Grinsell is a highlight. Who better than Wesla's hubby to create arrangements that fit her liek a glove.

3rd of all the songs selection in flawless, she mixes in standards and rarirties, and even makes the standards sound unique by singing the verses, that for nearly 50 years have been lest out of the songs(unless of couse they were being sung on broadway). Wesla brings out inner beauty in all of these romantic selection the way a caberet/jazz singer should. The band sounds jazzy and inspired behind her, and she sounds equally inspired by the band.

Lastly, this is a perfect cd in every way. I am sure you will love it. This is a great cd for romancin' so don't hesitate, buy one today.

Way to go Wesla

Tip: All of wesla's cd's are of this quality and she always works with the same groups(& never leaves out the verses to songs), so if you like this, chances are you can't go wrong with any Wesla cd. Though her latest ones are jazzier, they are all good.

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that this cd is the greatest cd of jazz standards out there. Let's do a little brain storming and try to find out why.
The voice of Weslia is very delightful, appealing and perfectly in pitch always. It is very entertaining, she really brings out the inner beauty of the songs, with the help of her husband and jazz pianist Mike Grinsell. Well, what then is what makes this cd really special? Could it be the band? Yes, I think I hit the nail on the head. I appears that we have double the fun here. On one side we have a beautiful voice that is doing more than it's part. On the other side of the band that makes arrangements sound retro and swingy and at the same time modern and refreshing, all done in a remarkable jazz style. It is just there, contributing SO much to Weslias' voice. It does play in a very melodical way. Could this be by design? I hope so, for if this is true we are all going to be in H-E-A-V-E-N. This IS the way that I like to hear music being performed.
I think the best thing for Weslia is to keep on using her husbands unique and colorful jazz arrangemts, for they really are what makes her trademark sound. This will continue to push Weslia over the top, and make her the finest jazz singer alive today. She
IS in the great category. Let's give it a try, and buy this great cd! There's really nothing to loose by buying this awesome cd today, and buy one for a friend to(tey'll be your best friend for life if you do).

There are so many pop singers like Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole & Carly Simon, who's careers were dying so as a last resort to revive thier sinking careers they turn to the great American songboks, because those songs practicly sing themselves, right? No, that's not right, it just shows what horrible singers they were to begin with and that they should stick to the "commercial" stuff they normally do. Standrds must be sung by individuals who understand them and treat them with respect yet take some liberty with them. Wesla Whitfield has been singing standards all her life, and sings them with her jazz pianist virtiouso husbands jazz combo The Mike Grinell Trio or Quartet(a fine jazz combo). Grinsell writes all of her arrangements making them sound classic and modern all at the same time, and very jazz based. Whitfield is respectful to the composers by always singing the little known verses, and by singing fogotten gems like Ev'rything I Love and Don't Take Your Love from Me . However Whitfield never sings things straight, she uses subtle improvisations and almost reshapes songs by just bringing out thier inner beauty and adding the verse, she brings standards alive like nobody else(only Banu Gibson, can give her some competition). This cd is well worth picking up for fans of jazz vocals as well as those who just like standards, or for those who have HIGH STANARDS.

I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to realize that this cd is the greatest cd of jazz standards out there. Let's do a little brain storming and try to find out why.

The voice of Weslia is very delightful, appealing and perfectly in pitch always. It is very entertaining, ahe really brings out the inner beauty of the songs, with the help of her husband and jazz pianist Mike Grinsell. Well, what then is what makes thsi cd really special? Could it be the band? Yes, I think I hit the nail on the head. I appears that we have a double the fun here. On one side we have a beautiful voice that is doing more it's part. On the other side of the band that makes arrangements sound retro and swingy and at the same time modern and refreshing, all done in a remarkable jazz style. It is just there, contibuting SO much to Weslias' voice. It does play in a very melodical way. Could this be by design? I hope so, for if this is true we are all going to be in H-E-A-V-E-N. This IS the way that I like to hear music being performed.

I think the best thing for Weslia is to keep on using her husbands unique and colorful jazz arrangemts, for they really are what makes for her trademark sound. This will continue to push Weslia over the top, and make her the finest jazz singer alive today. She
IS in the great category. Let's give it a try, and buy this great cd! There's really nothing to loose by buying this awesome cd today, and buy one for a friend to.