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BAILEY'S BUNDLES May 9, 2018

Seven Women 2018 – Part V

An embarrassment of riches... Shirley Crabbe Bridges MaiSong Music 2018 Vocalist Shirley Crabbe's 2011 debut recording, Home (Self Produced), was very well received, with critic Edward Blanco noting that the singer has, ..."a warm approach to the music, her smooth vocals seem a perfect fit for voicing soft ballads." While true, Crabbe is equally capable of belting out up-tempo numbers in her near perfectly-balanced voice that once was thought lost. In ...

ALBUM REVIEWS April 9, 2015

The Susan Krebs Chamber Band: Simple Gifts

By C. Michael Bailey

..."some bluesy piano soloing, hoedown string work, and more." Dan Bilawsky in his AAJ review of Krebs' Simple Gifts Yes, I think nothing of drawing inspiration from my betters on the AAJ staff when stuck on a review. I had reviewed Everything Must Change (GreenGig Music, 2012), finding the release very fine. But Simple Gifts represents a stunning evolution that is different altogether. Here, Krebs dives into the heart of Americana in the same ...

ALBUM REVIEWS March 13, 2015

The Susan Krebs Chamber Band: Simple Gifts

By Dan Bilawsky

Vocalist Susan Krebs and her musical friends have been putting together thematically-programmed salon concerts in living rooms and small venues for a number of years. Out of that experience comes Simple Gifts, a salon sampler of sorts that gives the at-home listener a taste of the ideas and arrangements that came about through these performances. The first two pieces on the album--"Let's Call A Heart A Heart" and “Looking Back"--originally fell under the banner of Cardiology: Heart ...

ALBUM REVIEWS June 16, 2012

The Susan Krebs Band: Everything Must Change

By C. Michael Bailey

Baltimore native cum Angelino Susan Krebs is not exactly a wallflower. She has been hiding in plain sight for the past twenty years, being a Jill-of-all-trades in the entertainment arena. She has an impressive onstage (off-Broadway) and television presence in commercials and appearances on programmed cable that include Shameless and Mad Men. She has also made it to the big screen on Million Dollar Baby (2004) and 28 Days (2000). It would be remiss not to mention that she also ...

ALBUM REVIEWS June 3, 2012

The Susan Krebs Band: Everything Must Change

By Jack Bowers

Appraising a jazz singer, male or female, is never easy; there are so many variables to consider. First, of course, is the voice, which must be lucid and pleasing to the ears. Respect for a lyric is important, as is articulation, which is bound closely to emotion; too little can be seen as tedious, too much as contrived. This, apart from choice of material, blending of tempo and mood, and the size and composition of the singer's backup group. When ...