Dark Divas: Hightlights

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Montreal-based Ranee Lee has all the technical skills that you could want in a jazz singer--range, pitch, swing, flexibility--and they're combined with a sense of a lyric's nuances and an ability to project sorrows and joys with vitality. This CD consists of selections from Dark Divas, Lee's one-woman musical in which she re-creates the characters and songs of some of the great voices of the African American vocal tradition, bringing her abundant talent to bear on material associated with singers from Josephine Baker to Sarah Vaughan. Lee alters her timbre to recreate the flavor of those voices, but she never descends into mere imitation or parody, instead invoking a sense of each singer within her own voice, be it Pearl Bailey's brash humor or Billie Holiday's emotional depth. She's at her best with those singers who have most strongly influenced her own style, invoking Dinah Washington's spirit for "Makin' Whoopee" and Vaughan's ethereal musicality on "If You Could See Me Now." The settings are consistently well done, with Rick Wilkins's arrangements effectively framing Lee's performances and evoking different eras, while guitarist Richard Ring and trombonist Muhammed Abdul Al-Khabyyr stand out among the band members. It's a project few contemporary singers could undertake, and fewer still might succeed in, but Lee fares very well. --Stuart Broomer

Dark Divas: Hightlights, Music, Ranee Lee, Bop, Jazz, Jazz Music, Jazz Vocals, Jazz-Pop, Pop

Average customer rating:

Pure Confection

Dark Divas: Hightlights
Ranee Lee
Manufacturer: Justin Time Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Amazon.com

Montreal-based Ranee Lee has all the technical skills that you could want in a jazz singer--range, pitch, swing, flexibility--and they're combined with a sense of a lyric's nuances and an ability to project sorrows and joys with vitality. This CD consists of selections from Dark Divas, Lee's one-woman musical in which she re-creates the characters and songs of some of the great voices of the African American vocal tradition, bringing her abundant talent to bear on material associated with singers from Josephine Baker to Sarah Vaughan. Lee alters her timbre to recreate the flavor of those voices, but she never descends into mere imitation or parody, instead invoking a sense of each singer within her own voice, be it Pearl Bailey's brash humor or Billie Holiday's emotional depth. She's at her best with those singers who have most strongly influenced her own style, invoking Dinah Washington's spirit for "Makin' Whoopee" and Vaughan's ethereal musicality on "If You Could See Me Now." The settings are consistently well done, with Rick Wilkins's arrangements effectively framing Lee's performances and evoking different eras, while guitarist Richard Ring and trombonist Muhammed Abdul Al-Khabyyr stand out among the band members. It's a project few contemporary singers could undertake, and fewer still might succeed in, but Lee fares very well. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Pure Confection.......2006-11-04

Like good chocolate, this woman is smooth, rich, and rewarding to listen to late in the evening when you hunger for a tasty treat. Her voice is a pure rhythmic delight. If you dig sophisticated ladies doing tasteful renditions of superb songs, this lady is your ticket to paradise. I can't stop listening to this CD and I play it in my car when tooling around the beach communities in FL. Her rendition of Fine and Mellow, describes this CD perfectly! It makes living worthwhile to hear this kind of quality in a voice such as Miss Lee's. Buy it if you love the good life! Listen to Honeysuckle Rose and you'll lose your petals, believe me.

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