Jazz Articles about Elissa Lala

Elissa Lala: Touch of Your Voice: New Takes on Chet Baker

by Budd Kopman
May 31, 2006

Elissa Lala has a stunning, sultry, smoking delivery that makes these tunes associated with Chet Baker envelop the listener. Communication is the most important thing to her, and her singing, while pure of pitch and treated with what she calls a “natural" vibrato, speaks directly to the listener in a way that's reminiscent of Betty Carter. Lala almost never leaves a note alone--instead, she bends it, swoops up or down, or changes dynamics in order to bring out every nuance ...