Before Me

アメリカのエンターテインメント・シーンを代表するディーヴァのひとり、グラディス・ナイト5年振りの新作は豪華ビッグ・バンドを従えて贈るジャズ・スタンダード集！ゴスペルで鍛えたパワフルでスピリチュアルな歌声は、ビッグ・バンド・サウンドをバックに深みと憂いのあるジャズ・ヴォーカルを際立たせています。プロデュースを手掛けたのは、ご存知トミー・リピューマ＆フィル・ラモーンの2大巨匠！

At a time when most of her contemporaries are satisfied reliving their glory years to appreciative audiences in casinos and theaters, Gladys Knight continues her refusal to be pigeonholed as a soul singer. With 2000's At Last, she returned to the mainstream R&B circuit with a session of adult contemporary R&B that was equally accessible and refreshing, and with 2005's One Voice she collaborated with the Saints Unified Voices for a fiery gospel and praise record. So this time around, Knight recruited legendary producer Phil Ramone and an impressive lineup of jazz musicians to record an album of jazz ballads and standards that influenced her during the formative years of her singing career. At first, the prospect of Knight's soulful, gritty vocal styles taking on some of jazz's greatest moments may be a questionable proposal for jazz purists, but all hesitation can be safely swept aside during the album's opening moments, a fantastic rendition of the Ellington classic "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me." Gone are the grit and raspy nature of Knight's voice, and in their place is a smooth, sultry set of vocal cords safely in control of the delivery of the material. Every single song here is already a bona fide hit, and Knight does them all justice in a way few soul singers could. Wonderfully relaxing, classy, and pleasantly void of vocal histrionics, Before Me is another important chapter and highlight in a career that is chock-full of them. ~ Rob Theakston

60年代から活躍し、モータウンなどに数々の大ヒット曲を残したグラディス・ナイトの新作は、豪華なビッグバンドを従えて贈るジャズ・スタンダード集。プロデュースを手掛けるのはこちらも超大御所のトミー・リピューマとフィル・ラモーン。ビリー・ホリデイの“God Bless The Chi-ld”をはじめ、大衆音楽であるスタンダード曲を彼女ならではのソウルフルな歌声で眩いばかりに輝かせた、極上のヴォーカル作品です。　　　　
bounce (C)中山 佳奈