Eva Cassidy - "Live at Blues Alley"

I first heard Eva Cassidy searching napster for all of the versions and covers of the Fats Waller jazz tune "Honeysuckle Rose". When I heard her version I was struck by her voice. It's unbelievably clear and smooth and her phrasing was gripping. I started looking for more of her music and found that she died of skin cancer while on her way up in the music scene. Most of her music has been released posthumously and has been a commercial success, especially in Great Britain. Like the Gillian Welch album, I picked this one up for Collyn's birthday. It has a handful of tunes that people will now, but sung differently than what they have heard before. Arguably, the best song on the album is a cover of Sting's it "Field's of Gold". I really liked Sting's version, but Eva's makes his sound like an amateur karaoke performance. This is the kind of vocalist the record executives should be finding and signing. Go listen to her stuff at Amazon, but don't stop with this album. Listen to all of her stuff.