Valentina Ponomareva. The gypsy Russian singer whose vocal range spans five octaves. Amazing singing capability. Although I don't have all of her recorded albums, the ones I have really demonstrate her amazing capability.
Fortune Teller (LR 136)
This is an amazing avant garde vocal jazz album from the LEO record. This is a long out-of-print album which has not been re-issued in CD format. Why? only God knows. But a few of the tracks from this album have been re-issued in the 4CD set from the same recording company: CD GY 401/404 -- Golden Years of New Jazz. If you have not heard her version of Ain't misbehavin', you haven't lived. It opens with nearly 5 mins of vocal scattering without giving a hint of what the melody is. The only similar singer that came to my mind who can sing like Valentina is the Polish Jazz singer Ursula Dudziak.
Russian Folk Songs
This album is entire different from Fortune Teller. This is a compilation of Russian folk songs sung by Valentina. Most of the tracks from this album has very nice melody which could make one cry. Very emotional and elegant. Unfortunately, the album is poorly recorded. Nonetheless, this album shows many different style of music Valentina is capable of to interpret. She is really a versatile singer. Highly recommended!
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1 comment:
Interesting to know.
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