Diana Krall does a version of Can't Take That Away From Me. The way she sings the opening line "They way you wear your hat..." makes me feel way too good.

Any voices that have made you stop dead in your tracks, or make you feel kind of umm....

"I only want what's the best thing for you,
And the best thing for you would be me...."

OH LORDY!
I have to wear a helmet when I hear Diana Krall because the back of my head hits the floor so hard!

Nelly Furtado, "Whoa Nelly," (album), the cut is, "I'm Like a Bird" If you haven't heard her, http://www.rollingstone.com has the whole song and video and it downloads lickedty-split. http://www.cdnow.com has a sample and a good review ("good" in the sense it's well written and not all suck-up; (she's a critcs' pet). One moment she's funk, one moment she's salsa, the next she's who knows? She's not sultry, steaming, or an intelligent as Krall (who the hell is). But she's full of sass in a hip-hop kind of way. Hard to pigeon hole.

I think k.d. Lang still has one of the best set of pipes in the business. Natalie Cole, given the right material, can make the world go round.

[Edited by rickbass1 on 01-24-2001 at 04:37 PM]

Rick, good call on Nelly Furtado. She is not technically sound, but her voice is right on for the moment. She has excellent control and is very sexy with a lot of her vocals. Don't forget the rasta cut...

Krall is wonderful, but she's no Billie.

Some of my current faves:

Patricia Barber
Susana Baca
Bebel Gilberto
Tracy Thorn
Marisa Monte
Sade
Cassandra Wilson

Gotta love those Brazilians.

Heard Gabriela Anders' version of "The Girl From Ipanema?"
Verrry nice! By the way, I think she's Brazilian too.

Originally posted by jazzbo
Krall is wonderful, but she's no Billie.

Lady Day can make my day.

Originally posted by Ed Fuqua
But I tell ya, I find myself listening more to Johnny Hartman than any other singer.

...the only singers I don't have a "take it or leave it" attitude towards are Johnny Hartman and Brenda Smith, here in Philly.

Most singers just fail to communicate much to me, but Diana Krall leaves me stone cold.

As long as we're talking about whose singing moves you, and not who looks like a man (Which clearly would deserve its own thread), then:

Diana Krall (Garden in the Rain, Gentle Rain)
Etta James (I'll be Seeing You)
Bonnie Raitt (The Glow, Ain't Gonna let You Break my Heart Again - sorry jazzers, the woman has soul to burn)

Johnny Hartman (Take your pick)
Chet Baker (I get Along Without You Very Well, My Ideal)

i'll have to agree with Christopher about the Brazilians. A Brazilian woman could be singing about dog **** and it's the sexiest thing you've ever heard. Double Dad, I think Gabriela Anders is actually Argentinian. But for our purposes, she might as well be Brazilian. Let's not forget Barry White....oops, wrong thread.

Sade (Is it a Crime)
Etta James (The Jealous Kind)
Bonnie Raitt (Goin' Wild For you Baby)
alltime faves, still get a little week Kneed by Chaka Kahn's (Sweet Thing)

Since there are obviously some Krall fans here, FYI, in many markets, PBS is rebroadcasting the Newport Jazz Festival this Sunday. Lots of good music besides D. Krall.

Lucia Popp - her "Queen of the Night" in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" (Otto Klemperer version, made in the late 1960s) is (IMHO) the definitive version for the role - many far more popular divas have sung the two famous arias from that opera but very few have brought such conviction, as well as such fabulous technique to the role. It's not a question of "making me melt", but more like dousing me with petrol and then tossing in a lit match...

Hey! - "Der Hoelle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen", yup - right on!


- Wil

PS: Diana Krall has a pretty damned good voice, AND plays a pretty mean piano (check out "I Can't Give You Anything But Love!"); one of my favourites is her version of "Popsicle Toes". Sorry, folks, but Eleanora Gough McKay leaves me somewhat cold - yes, I KNOW she's a legend etc etc, but I find that 10 minutes of her, and I get bored, and switch to something else - sorry, but that's how it is!

Anybody out there remember Annie Haslam of Renaissance?

Ah yes! Annie Haslam - good one (I'd almost forgotten about her!.

How about something "frae the Auld Country" (wi' Burns Night upon us, an' all...) - for absolute purity of tone, Jean Redpath takes some beating. Anyone else familiar with her 7 album set of the poems of Robert Burns (researched and arranged by Serge Hovey)? Jewels, each and every one of them. (One of my favourites is "Nine Inch Will Please A Lady")

- Wil

I'll have to chime in for Beth Orton. If she made a CD of her reading her grocery list, I would buy it.

c-ba55:

What, desperate to make 100? ;)

Anyway, since the thread has been resurrected:

Stevie Nicks
Sarah Brightman
Melissa Etheridge

All have voices that, um, make me sit up and take notice...

Lucinda Williams,Kelly Ritchie,Sue Foley.....

Flora Purim can do it. She's great live. I've had the pleasure of hanging out with her a few times; she's lovely, and leaves me with a nice little fuzzy feeling inside afterwards...;)

My votes for voices:
Any Brazilian woman singing Jobim
Johnny Hartman
Johnny Cash

Carol Welsman (http://www.carolwelsman.com) of Toronto -- who Dianna Krall would like to sing like, if she could.

Ever heard Harry Connick, Jr. do "Ave Maria." He kicks the **** out of it.

Cheryl Benthene (sp?) sang Angel Eyes on Rob Wasserman's "Duos" album - WOW! Cassandra Wilson's singing on Wynton's "Blood on the Fields" is pretty damn scary, too.