Christopher Loudon
Christopher’s Contributions
December 2009 • Features
Harry Connick, Jr.: Direct Hits
Two decades after his commercial breakthrough, Harry Connick Jr. taps legendary producer Clive Davis for an album of crooner roots and beloved tunes
December 2009 • Albums
The Chick Corea Songbook
The Manhattan Transfer
Significant as it is that the Manhattan Transfer has been around for 40 years, it is far more remarkable that those four decades have been marked by near-continuous artistic expansion and advancement. The Four Freshmen and the Hi-Los can statistically claim...
December 2009 • Albums
Your Songs
Harry Connick, Jr.
Last we heard from Harry Connick Jr., he was firing on all cylinders with the simultaneous release of Oh My Nola and Chanson du Vieux Carré , his twin-engine, high-octane homage to his hurricane-ravaged hometown. So it’s initially disconcerting to hear him...
December 2009 • Vox
Love Is the Answer
Get past the froufrou packaging, complete with chintz, lace, chenille and adorable, snoozing pups, and inside you’ll find the precise opposite: an album (or two, depending on which version you choose) of deceptive simplicity that is the quintessence of quiet...
December 2009 • Vox
With Every Note, a Step
Scot Albertson
It’s tough not to admire the pluck of the indie-jazz vocalist. He or she has chosen one of the thorniest of musical paths and is out there all alone, handling everything from bookings and album production to promotion and CD sales. Take Scot Albertson, now...
December 2009 • Vox
Baker's Dozen
John Proulx
That singer-pianist John Proulx bears a striking vocal similarity to the young Chet Baker was made undeniably apparent three years ago with the release of Proulx’s debut, Moon and Sand. Rather than deny or mask the resemblance, Proulx embraces it on this...
November 2009 • Vox
Vagabond
Spencer Day
There’ve been some changes made. Five years ago, when the lanky Idahoan made his recording debut with Introducing Spencer Day, his not-quite-jelled sound suggested peripatetic trips along the folk-rock matrix extending from Livingston Taylor to Boz Scaggs...
November 2009 • Vox
We Move
Sachal Vasandani
silver-lined, but mostly light and imperturbably unencumbered. It sometimes drifts lazily (notably on a gentle, tender “There Are Such Things” and a soft-swinging “There’s a Small Hotel”), but is just as often propelled with gustier verve, as on Monk and...
November 2009 • Vox
In the Middle of It All
Melissa Walker
Following the 2001 release of her fine I Saw the Sky , Melissa Walker seemed to go quiet. The career-halting silence was, in fact, reflective of a terrifying reality for Walker. An infection resulting from severe allergies ignited vocal-cord paralysis. But...
October 2009 • Vox
Dedicated to You
Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling pays tribute to John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman.
October 2009 • Vox
American Classic
Willie Nelson
Country singer Nelson revisits classic American standards. Cameos by Diana Krall and Norah Jones.
August/September 2009 • Albums
Quiet Nights
Diana Krall
Diana Krall’s acknowledgement that she drew strongly from Julie London for this collection of 10 ballads and bossa novas is fair but limiting. Yes, in achieving her stated goal to not oversing, she does echo the cashmere minimalism that defined London’s...
May 2009 • Vox
Boleros
Raquel Bitton
Raquel Bitton and the bolero share similar heritages, mixing French and Spanish influences to create a fiery romanticism of soaring intensity. And Bitton, who suggests a spicier Edith Piaf (and, indeed, has earned substantial success investigating the Piaf...
May 2009 • Vox
My One and Only Thrill
Melody Gardot
There’s a film noir quality to Melody Gardot’s latest. Even on upbeat numbers like the gently flowing “If the Stars Were Mine” and simmering “Our Love Is Easy,” there’s the hint of smoky inscrutability, a sepia-toned sense of Gene Tierney or Gloria Grahame...
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ReportAbout Christopher Loudon
When the rest of the baby-boomers were wrapped up in the Beatles and the Stones, Christopher Loudon was discovering Sinatra, Fitzgerald and Bennett. Since 2003, Loudon has critiqued upwards of 500 vocal albums in these pages and shaped about a dozen profiles, including Diana Krall, Jamie Cullum, Nancy Wilson, Curtis Stigers and Dianne Reeves. After long stints at TV Guide and Inside Entertainment, Loudon served as the founding editor-in-chief of the Canadian edition of Hello! magazine. He is currently executive publisher and editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine, the Canadian equivalent of Advertising Age.