..Boom! With Liz and Ann

Boom! the current album by Liz Callaway and Ann Hampton Callaway, recorded during their Birdland concert in New York City, is all about the music of the baby boomer generation and it is a wonderful celebration of music, of memories and of sisterhood. Liz Callaway who has starred on Broadway as an actress and singer for many years and Ann Hampton Callaway is one of today’s most respected vocalists as well as being a highly regarded songwriter.


Throughout both the music and the memories that Ann and Liz share from the stage and most often humorously, Liz is portrayed as the more conservative and straight laced sister, while Ann is depicted as the nonconformist. Their repartee is spiced with anecdotes from their childhood, teenage and early adult years. Yet it is the vocals that stir the soul during this concert recording with performances such as Ann’s rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.”  While she sings, “Oh I could drink a case of you my darling / And I would still be on my feet / I would still be on my feet,” the listener is left with the feeling that you are hearing an intimate conversation, during which one lover is pouring out her heart to another, as An accompanies herself elgantly on the piano. There are many reasons why you should purchase Boom! and Ann’s vocal performance on “A Case Of You,” should be the only reason that you need, but then there are equally sparkling performances by Liz Callaway on this album as well. Read More

Eliane Elias Is Lighting A Fire

Maurice Williams:  50 Years

It is appropriate that legendary singer – songwriter Maurice Williams and today’s version of the Zodiacs should begin their new album 50 Years, with “Little Darlin’ (The Beginning),” because for Maurice Williams, who wrote this song, it marks the beginning of a career that has spanned more than fifty years in the music business. The new recording of the song, really serves as a ballad about Maurice Williams’ career, or at least the beginning of his career, as it tells how the song “Little Darlin’,” launched the careers of what was then known as The Gladiolas, after their name had been changed from The Royal Charms, by Ernie Young of the Nashville label Excello Records. Still only sixteen years old at the time, Maurice Williams would watch his song peak at # 11 on the American R&B charts. The song would later be recorded by the Canadian group The Diamonds; however, Maurice Williams retained all of the rights to “Little Darlin’.”

What is truly amazing about this album is how well Maurice Williams’ voice has held up after all of these Read more

Judy Wexler Sings About Love

Jazz – Pop vocalist Judy Wexler’s new recording Under A Painted Sky, is a beautiful collection of songs, with fabulous arrangements and elegant vocals that will bring fans of romantic ballads under her spell. The very pretty and petite Ms. Wexler appears on the cover of her album, reclining and the mood is relaxed, reflecting the tone of songs such as the opener “Wonderful Wonderful,” for which pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Darek Oles and percussionist Alex Acuna create a subtle, pastel landscape.

There is longing in Judy Wexler’s voice as she sings Abbey Lincoln’s “And How I Hoped For Your Love,” as she recounts the beauty of experiencing love that arrives unexpectedly and how it just as quickly departs, leaving in its place an emptiness, but not despair. Ms. Wexler draws the listener into the emotional heartbeat of the song, as she softly sings, “And then we met / I can’t forget / How we laughed / And then suddenly the end.”

With this album, Judy Wexler explores the various moods and aspects of love, including an older woman who is attracted to a younger man, as the relationship or the hope of a relationship is reflected with the metaphor of the seasons; summer representing him  Read More

..Crying My Whole Heart Out...

Let’s hope that singer – songwriter Julie Hardy’s EP Clementine grows into an album, because this is a really good collection of songs, performed and written by an artist who has completely reinvented herself and who has done so in spectacular fashion. This writer first got to know Julie Hardy about six years ago after the release of her Jazz album and that was a good outing as well, but it appears that New York City based Ms. Hardy’s light is about to shine more brightly on the Pop music scene.  The feel of these songs is somewhere between Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”) and Canada’s Meaghan Smith, who earlier this year was the recipient of Canada’s most prestigious music award the Juno and in her case, for Best New Artist and on “Up Here,” there are reminders of Sarah McLachlan. That is pretty good company for Julie Hardy and the songs on Clementine give us every reason to believe that she can achieve the same success as the three aforementioned artists.  

Julie Hardy turns in one of the most heartfelt performances with the songs on Clementine, as it opens innocently enough with the vintage sounding “Crying My Whole Heart Out,” a song that begins quietly and segues into thundering and edgy bass guitar riffs by Mike MacAllister, which are juxtaposed to Julie Hardy’s quieter lament, “You’ve taken the best of me.”