patricia barber - diana krall - holly cole

Big Krall fan…,1993 to 2003. Those days are gone. But hey, a decade long career of singing well isn’t a bad thing. I’ve every album of hers during that decade. Sure, she wasn’t as good a singer as Dee Dee Bridgewater or Cassandra Wilson, but she had greater notoriety because she had the backing of the record company.

Her career changed when she got married. She was never the same after that.

Still, her Live In Paris blu ray was the finest recorded concert of any jazz performance ever. I still watch it regularly. Makes you want to visit Paris, which I’ve never done. But I’ve been to Russia and Ukraine, so not all bad. They truly know how to dance and party over there!

Thanks to DK’s work over that ten year period, and to bassist Ray Brown, who in the very beginning days, encouraged her!!!

I can't say much about either Diana Krall or Patricia Barber live, but I can say that Diana Krall's albums are generally magnificently recorded, especially Live in Paris and Love Scenes.  Patricia Barber . . . another artist that I would love to see in concert, but I suspect that nothing can top her Companion XRCD.  That is one of my go-to test albums for any new equipment or cables.  To me, that recording is just magnificent . . . especially the opening bass line to Use Me, among others.

Each of them sounded boring to me after a while. Dinah Washington held singing lessons for many other "stars". As for Melody Gardot - her story is amazing. As teenager she made money riding bicycle to local bars and playing piano - until she got hit by the car and spent whole year in hospital bed. Her whole neurological system was damaged and she could not speak. Doctor in desperation suggested singing and that cured her. The only leftover of the accident is cane and sunglasses for damaged eyes.

Patricia Barber . . . another artist that I would love to see in concert, but I suspect that nothing can top her Companion XRCD.

@moto_man  , I didn't know that "Companion" was on XRCD.  I have the Blue Note  digital pressing that I bought before 9/11, and I did like it so much that more recently I bought the MFSL SACD pressing.  I have four different digital pressings of Cafe Blue, and I'll usually choose one (actually I haven't listened to one of them yet)   for auditioning changes to my system.

I have a Japanese digital pressing, that I bought a long time ago, of Holly Cole "It Happened One Night" that I like a lot because it does a good job of conveying the immediacy of her vocals, particularly on "Cry If You Want To." 

Oh well, ramble on. . . .

I wonder how the SACD version compares to the XRCD?  Let me know if you want to compare them by PM