Southport Records has often been great about turning the spotlight on talented Chicago jazz artists who were little known outside of their city. In 1996, one such artist was
Linda Tate
, an expressive and charming singer whose main influences include
Sarah Vaughan
and
Dianne Reeves
. Although
Tate
hasn't escaped the influence of R&B and pop,
We Belong Together
is a jazz CD first and foremost. This CD contains a few warhorses that have been recorded countless times (including
"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To"
and "I'm Beginning to See the Light"), but on the whole,
is insightful enough to make less obvious selections.
Milton Nascimento's
"Bridges" (for which she embraces
Gene Lees'
thoughtful lyrics),
Chick Corea's
"Sea Journey" and
Stevie Wonder's
"Ribbon in the Sky" are hardly songs that have been done to death by jazz singers, and one has to admire
for have the guts to tackle "Somewhere," a gem by
Stephen Sondheim
Leonard Bernstein
(whose challenging songbook has scared away more than a few jazz artists). Not fantastic, but decent and sometimes risk-taking,
indicated that
was someone to be aware of. ~ Alex Henderson