Jan Shapiro - Back To Basics

[GA Russell]

Jan Shapiro has been the Chair of the Berklee voice department since 1997. (With 750 voice students, only the guitar department there is larger.) She has been a teacher there since 1985. Her students have included Tierney Sutton, Luciana Souza and Paula Cole.

She has a new self-produced album out on her own label called Back To Basics which is available at CDBaby for $12.99. She also has two other albums there which were recorded in the mid-90s.

Back To Basics has 8 songs, totalling only 31 minutes. Seven of the songs are standards, and the eighth is Horace Silver's jazz standard Sister Sadie. The standards include Change Partners, Squeeze Me, Our Love is Here to Stay, Beautiful Friendship and S'Wonderful.

All four members of the quartet backing her are Berklee colleagues. I am familiar with only drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. Perhaps some of you know one or more of the others: Tim Ray on piano, John Baboian on guitar and John Repucci on bass. Their solos are token. This is Shapiro's album all the way.

Shapiro has a baby doll voice, but shows remarkable similarity to Linda Purl. She is 57 years old, but still has perfect pitch.

This is a great little album. Even at this late stage of her career, I can see a label signing her. I'll be playing this one often.

Those of you with high speed internet service may want to look at her website at http://www.janshapiro.com My dial-up service can't handle it.

4 stars

edit for typo

Edited April 1, 2007 by GA Russell

[Chuck Nessa]

Reads like a press release.

[GA Russell]

I ordered this one from CDBaby today for my niece for Christmas. My niece likes Blossom Dearie, so I'm confident she'll like Jan Shapiro as well.