Emerald Jade – A New Classic
A New Classic
(Breeze – 2004)
by S.H. Watkins, Sr.
The title says it all. This is one of the smoothest, groovingest CDs I’ve come across this year. As soon as you put it on Vibe Queen hits you and hooks you with old school jazz scat crossed with funky jazz. Emerald Jade has one of those voices that was made for this kind of thing. Delirious is a sexy ballad with Emerald singing the front and the back, and it’s so sweet you could get diabetic from just listening! There’s also some nice guitar work by Troy Reigelman and vocal accompaniment by Craig Monroe, who is also co writer and producer of the CD as well as Emerald Jade’s husband.
| Listen to Shine using RealAudio. |
Did I mention that this is an Indie production? Well, this is one of the best independent productions I have seen in all my years as publisher of JazzUSA. My Man slows it down a bit and overlays the sultry vocals with some timely trumpet lines from Eric Butler. Once again the strength of the track is in the quality of the songwriting and the skill of the delivery. Tippin’ goes a little more uptempo and adds more funk to the bottom to tell a story of betrayal and disappointment.
You Bring Joy To My Life is dedicated to her husband Craig on the back of the CD, and this is a JAM! The emotion is real. Emerald Jade brings a sassy style and great sense of musical timing to her music. I Found Love and Afternoon at Ricardo’s round out this fantastic collection.
This is a Must Have for your collection and a shoo-in for top-ten vocal jazz CD of the year in my book. You might be interested to know that Emerald Jade is also the matriarch of the talented family of recording artists Jesse Powell, and Trina & Tamara. For more information visit the Emerald Jade Web Site.
