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Christy Baron
Steppin'
By Steven R. Rochlin
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Compact Disc Stock Number: Chesky JD 201
This new offering from the great folks at Chesky, Steppin' by Christy Baron, uses their great 24-bit/96kHz mastering facility. Here we have a truly talented jazz vocalist with large dosage of fun and frolic. The CD is filled with twelve cover tunes from "Will It Go 'Round In Circles" made popular in the 70's by Billy Preston to 80's sensation Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street". Here we have a small gathering of jazz musicians doing a great job of backing Christy's wonderful voice. Her voice can sound soft and sultry like during the song "Days on the Downtown 6" which is amazingly funky and modern sounding for Chesky. In fact this is my favorite track on the album. It has none of that soulless lame lounge lizard sound we sometimes find in more than a few audiophile releases. Another really upbeat tune, "Spooky" has a big dose of funk while Christy's vocals are strong and cool-man-cool.
In fact this may very well be my fave Chesky release to date! Great musicianship and interpretation to the point where i personally like Christy's rendition of "Mercy Street" over Peter Gabriel's! On the other hand the song "Spooky", while quite good, was better done better by Classics IV in '67. Of course the usual excellent sound quality and soundscape as found on other Chesky titles is here in all its glory. If you are looking for truly great funky jazz then Christy Baron's Steppin' is for you. Not just great sound.. but great music! Chesky has a winner on their hands here!
Enjoyment: 99 44/100
Sound Quality: 90
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