evian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Our Wondereful Rev Vince wrote:
>
>> There are a lot of discussions in the JMDL about artists who I have
>> never heard of, let alone heard; to this day I have no idea who Jonatha
>> Brooke actually is, just that I've seen her name a lot.
>>
>LOLOL, this made me chuckle because I too have no idea who this Jonatha
>is, even though she is a household name around here.
Jonatha Brooke, in my view, is one of the very few best singer/songwriters
working today (Shawn Colvin is another), and one of the even fewer deserving
of Joni Mitchell's legacy.
She started out in a duo with singer Jennifer Kimball called The Story, who
produced a good first album, GRACE IN GRAVITY, and a brilliant follow up, THE
ANGEL IN THE HOUSE. Jonatha was the primary voice and writer. She went solo
with another brilliant one called PLUMB, followed by TEN CENT WINGS, LIVE,
and a new one due 2/13, STEADY PULL. Like Joni, she is a "shape-shifter,"
never content to stay in one place, her sound evolving from folk/pop with
jazz and Latin tinges, broadening to encompass rock, R&B, more density and
complexity.
She is as inspired a melodist as there ever has been, with an equally superb
harmonic sense ... always dancing on the edge between surprising and
satisfying. Smart, tuneful, musical, moving. And fantastic lyrics. Also, she
can really do it live, either alone or with a band ... she is a musician.
(Disclosure: a friend and musical colleague of mine, Ingrid Graudins, sang
with her for a few years on record and gigs.)
I can't recommend Jonatha Brooke highly enough, no matter how hard I try, and
I can't imagine that someone into Joni would not find much to love about her
work.
-Fred Simon
