Maye Cavallaro/Mimi Fox: Hearts

Mellow chanteuse Maye Cavallaro and dexterous guitarist Mimi Fox are evenly matched on their consistently superb Hearts (Redhead). Cavallaro’s easy elegance and burnished vocal beauty, luxurious as purple velvet, suggest a more robust Diana Krall. Fox, alternating among three acoustic guitars, two electrics and one nylon-string, echoes the magnificence of Les Paul. Like Paul, she knows how to blend seamlessly with a singer. She is the cool yin to Cavallaro’s warm yang-two dynamic halves of a greater whole. Listening to their downy “Daydream,” percolated “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” boldly expansive rendering of Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies” and sensual, Latin-accented interpretation of Jesse Neal Barish’s tender title track is to experience teamwork at its most magical.

Originally Published October 1, 2003