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'Quite a few of the Twin Cities female jazz singers are brassy, bluesy, gospel-bred belters, who know their Aretha Franklin as well as their Billie Holiday. THe girlish Michelle certainly doesn't fit that outgoing mold. Her understated art is more about gentle persuasion, precise storytelling and easy swing. This sophmore CD is an aural charm bracelet filled with swell songs that you haven't heard too often, including Holiday's whimical Your Mother's Son In Law. Swing Brother Swing lives up to its retro title, The Blues Are Brewin' finds alto saxophonixt Doug Haining ably echoing and updating the great Johnny Hodges, and Michelle's duet with Minnesota Twins keyboardist Ronnie Neuman, Crazy He Calls Me is simply sublime.
Tom Surowicz '~ Star Tribune - Sunday, November 1998 'Retro pleaser Charmin Michelle, a local vocalist with savoir faire to spare, just released her third CD,HOT. It spotlights Doug Haining and the Twin CIties Seven, an exemplary group modeled on Count Basie's Kansas City septet. Haining's clarinet is liquid and lustrous on A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing; pianist Rick Carlson certainly is fit to sit in the Count's chair, and Gordy Knudtson combines precision with easygoing flair. But it's Michelle's show, and she gently seduces the listener time after time, whether the fare is ageless blues, warm bossa, intimate love song, or upbeat novelty. She's a flower, a lovesome thing. '~ Star Tribune - November 30 2001 'Crystal vocals. Cool. Clear. Superb phrasing. Michelle not only knows how to swing the song, but her care for the mood, the dramatic and the message is magnetic'~ Leigh Kamman - The Jazz Image |
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