If you manage to reach the highest echelons of Gilles Peterson's annual list as a first-time jazz artist, you couldn't wish for better publicity. It happened to Canadian pianist / singer Elizabeth Shepherd in 2006 with Start To Move. If you had to compare her to another jazz artist, Annette Peacock comes very close. Both use their hoarse, dreamy voices to sing about social problems and personal
… experiences with velvety seductiveness. Shepherd just puts more melody in her vocals. Like José James, Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper, she doesn't make things too difficult for her listeners with complex rhythms and intricate melodies, but lets her songs speak for themselves. African guitarist Lionel Loueke can be heard on The Signal as a special guest. (AD)more
