There's fast food and there's good old fashioned home cooking. That's the thought that came to mind as I listened to "Roots Don't Lie", the new album from The Cheryl Hodge Group. Cheryl Hodge has been delivering the jazz goods for some time now but here she turns her voice to the honourable pursuit of the Chicago style blues.
The change is admirably handled too. Whether respectfully covering classics like "Someday After A While" or "Drowning In the Sea of Love", Ms Hodge demonstrates that power and control can co-exist. She is capable of belting it out like Irma Thomas yet equally capable of subtly syncopating (such as on her own "I Fell What I Feel When I Feel It"). With so many artists nowadays relying on technology to make their impact, this makes for a refreshing change. The standout track for me was the melancholy, conventional blues of "Tonight I'm Wearing Black" that, to overuse a common saying, tells it like it is.
So turn the lights down and hear how singing should be done.
Available from CD Baby.