I just wanted to let you in on a singer I enjoy very much, and (mysteriously) is one of Canada's best kept secrets. IMHO, her work is every bit as interesting as Cassandra Wilson's, if not more so. Shirley Eikhard is a seasoned lyricist, composer, arranger and jazz vocalist, who credits Joni as an influence, and reviewers sometimes mention Joni in describing her work.
For example, [SE] Yeah. Oh, you know, it's funny because when I was growing up, I grew up in a family that... we had everything. Everything from Led Zeppelin going on on the record player, to Merle Haggard, to Buck Owens, myself with Joni Mitchell, Ian and Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot. And then I started discovering jazz. Chet Atkins, Paul Desmond, which is when I first heard Ed play, and Cleo Lane, Carmen McCrae, and so I was kinda like this closet jazz lover. And even though through my teens, twenties, and thirties I was doing pop writing, singing and that kind of thing I was, you know, writing these songs, these jazz things, because that was my secret love. So now I'm finally, at 42, going "Yeah! I want to do this." ``The CD opens with the one vocal track, "Some New Thrill." Wow! What a voice. Smoky, dark, mysterious - she reminds me of Cassandra Wilson or Joni Mitchell, with that same type of sensualness that wraps itself around you. `` ``These days, what you get is a spiky jazz workout that wouldn't sound out of place on Joni Mitchell's Don Juan's Wreckless (sic) Daughter. (From The Last Hurrah, Indie CD) `` Now that I've piqued your curiosity - enjoy! http://www.shirleyeikhard.com Michaelo NP: Shirley Eikhard - Going Home
