Cathy Rocco You're Gonna Hear From Me CD

Many jazz purists need a serious reality check when it comes to what they expect from jazz vocalists. Even in the 21st century, jazz purists continue to insist that jazz singers who grew up in a rock/R&B era -- and that includes Gen-X and Gen-Y as well as the baby boomers -- should remain untouched by rock or R&B and avoid any popular music that didn't come from Tin Pan Alley. But such thinking is silly and antiquated; it's only natural that some jazz-oriented vocalists are going to have non-jazz influences, and You're Gonna Hear from Me is a perfect example of a vocal album that is jazz-oriented without being the work of a jazz purist. Cathy Rocco is a gritty and bluesy yet introspective singer whose influences include Dinah Washington, Jimmy Scott, Nancy Wilson (the singer who worked with Cannonball Adderley, not Wilson of Heart), Marlena Shaw and Carmen McRae; jazz is Rocco's primary direction, but soul, blues and funk have clearly left their mark on her as well. And she is as expressive on Tin Pan Alley war horses like "Autumn Leaves" and "There Will Never Be Another You" as she is on Aretha Franklin's "Daydreaming," Bill Withers' "Hello Like Before," Tracy Chapman's "Give Me One Reason" and the Stevie Wonder-associated "For Once in My Life," which she transforms into a torch ballad. The big-voiced Rocco's outlook is "rhythm & jazz" (to borrow jazz critic Scott Yanow's term), but she isn't quite as much of a belter as a full-fledged R&B singer might be. Although not for jazz purists, this 2008 release is easily recommended to those who like their vocal jazz laced with a generous dose of soul and blues. ~ Alex Henderson

Personnel: Cathy Rocco (vocals); Michael Higgins (guitar); Tamir Hendelman (piano); John Beasley (organ); Kuno Schmid (keyboards); Dave Carpenter (bass instrument); Vic Stevens (drums).

JazzTimes (p.101) - "Her 'Tea for Two' is petal-soft, and she swings 'Autumn Leaves' without ever diminishing the lyric's poignancy."