Scratching an itch to add fresh music -- jazz -- to my collection, I was upstairs at HMV.
Silently, I cursed the pounding bass and screeching treble from downstairs, drowning out our first floor jazz. It's a long time since I felt welcome and comfortable in the rock section, I mused, perusing the sparse collection of jazz, mostly old, except for a couple of Melody Gardot albums already ensconced in my collection.
I have the kind of ears that listen. Downstairs had found something quiet to play, and HMV were treating us upper atmosphere souls to a woman's voice I didn't recognize, delvering a gutsy mix of jazz and rockabilly.
"Who's that?" I asked an assistant.
"Imelda May," he said, pointing at the huge 'Playing Now' sign that I had not noticed right behind him.
"She's not in jazz. Where is she?"
"Downstairs. In rock and pop."
I headed downstairs. Maybe I would after all feel welcome in rock 'n pop. I was surprised to recognize many of the artistes -- the Stones, Beatles, Robert Palmer, and even the Crimson King was still in his Hall. I found Imelda May, then remembered that Amy Winestock appeared to have some jazz roots; also, Lilly Allen and Duffy seem to me to be today's Dusty Springfields, so I added them too to my armful of albums.
Then I dimly remembered my daughter mentioning a modern, jazz-influenced cover of Dusty's "Spooky". The Pepperlini Sisters? Pralini Sisters? Perlini Sisters? Something like that. I scanned all the P's in rock 'n pop, drew a blank, and, now feeling at home downstairs, went to a rock 'n pop assistant to ask.
"The Puppini Sisters," he said. "Upstairs. In Easy Listening."
Hey there,
You can hear more from Imelda May's new album and watch some great videos by visiting the official website at http://www.imeldamay.com/
Posted by: classicsandjazz | June 01, 2009 at 05:18 PM
Amy Winehouse, Dad. Winehouse.
Posted by: Alexandra | May 21, 2009 at 05:13 PM