So Many Stars
is the kind of album you want to hate. The idea of blending
Kathleen Battle's
soprano voice with accomplished
jazz
musicians such as
Grover Washington, Jr.
and
Cyrus Chestnut
is the sort of idea that makes most serious music fans cringe. Surprisingly,
Battle
manages to pull it off. She succeeds because of her subdued approach, which is a bit of a surprise considering that the artist is best known for her raging temper. She takes on several familiar songs such as
"Steal Away,"
"Going Home,"
"The Little Horses,"
but never tries to overpower them. Equally impressive is her work on Spanish and Portuguese tunes such as
"Azulao"
"Para Ninar."
If most
classical
musicians took the kind of meticulous care that
does with
, maybe the idea of crossover
music would not be one that so many music lovers reflexively hate. ~ Jon Azpiri