Listeners to the more savvy soul and jazz stations over the Christmas period would have heard a new, gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell's 'The River' from soul/jazz chanteuse ROBIN McKELLE. Not a Christmas song, per se, it does reference the festival and the sentiment, the sad tenderness and the sense of regret inherent in the song were beautifully delivered by Ms McKelle. The track is one of the many highlights on the singer's upcoming new album - 'Alterations'. The 10 tracker marks something of a departure for Robin. You see 'Alterations' is a "covers album" and when soulandjazzandfunk hooked up with Robin for an update the first thing we needed to know was why a covers album?
Yes, 'Alterations' is a covers album. It features music from celebrated women of song from different genres interpreted in a jazz idiom. After recording a few albums of my own original music, I wanted to record an album of covers because I wanted to focus on my singing. My first passion was singing, interpreting music and lyrics. I think this is my jazz background coming into play but I am also storyteller and writer. I choose songs that really spoke to me and evoked a feeling and distinct emotion.
Second obvious question... why did you choose those particular songs?
I chose each song by female artists who are songwriters and performers like me from different genres and styles. Taking inspiration from my jazz background I wanted to recreate a different sound and feel to these songs. That is also what inspired the title, 'Alterations'. It features songs by Dolly Parton, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Janis Joplin, Carol King, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, and Lana Del Ray. I just let the song speak to me and I let my voice carry out the ideas. Usually I knew within the first 8 bars of the songs if it was going to inspire me to make it my own.
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 January 2020 16:29
For people of a certain age, the word "disco" is synonymous with the image of a white-suited John Travolta strutting his stuff in the blockbuster movie Saturday Night Fever while the hirsute, shiny-toothed Bee Gees squawked 'Staying Alive' with impossibly-high helium falsettos. However, as true connoisseurs of that much-maligned musical genre will know, there is much more to disco than the mainstream hits that brought what became a cultural as well as musical phenomenon a big slice of immortality.
"Life happens while you're a jazz singer," laughs Vanessa Rubin, explaining her long absence from the world of recording. For those mystified by her sudden disappearance back at the dawn of the 2000s, she says "I never stopped singing," adding, "but you can't be on stage all the time. I'm happy to have had time to be with family and do some normal things, instead of just travelling and focusing on my performance." 
Though he comes across as a softly-spoken man who laughs a lot, is self-effacing, and knows the value of humility, there's a core of inner steel that gives folk-blues troubadour Keb' Mo' a toughness that seems at odds with the gentle demeanour he projects. He's a strong believer in fighting for just causes and during a career that began in 1994 and which to date has yielded seventeen albums, Mo' has tackled many different and difficult social, political and environmental issues. Though he's been described as a protest singer, the 67-year-old Californian - who now lives in Nashville - doesn't express himself using cheap or catchy slogans; nor does he adopt a blinkered, dogmatic approach to his subject matter - rather, he convinces us his cause's worthiness by dint of his common-sense-reasoning combined with simple eloquence and the gentle art of persuasion. 
