Cara Matthew – Nov/Dec 2008
Cara Matthew
Cara Matthew has the potential to become Canada’s next international jazz star.The Toronto-based singer has a great voice, an innate sense of what works for her and what doesn’t, and a talent for taking songs which aren’t generally regarded as jazz songs in the traditional sense and putting a whole new spin on them.She displays all those talents and more on her recently-released debut album Make You Feel My Love.A very polished effort, the album was recorded in Toronto with Juno Award-winning producer Greg Kavanagh and a go-big-or-stay-home roster of session players that included bass player George Koller, keyboard player Robi Botos, drummer Davide DiRenzo, and trumpet player Guido Basso.
.Matthew’s first record is full of surprises, not the least of which is her choice of material, which includes songs from artists like Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Billy Preston, Elton John, and Aerosmith, all of which were favourites of hers growing up “ and all of which have been given a new jazz/blues arrangement.
She takes some of these pop gems in directions I expect their creators never anticipated – like Preston’s “Nothin’ From Nothin, but the treatments are goody and the material fares well.
Matthew, who was born on the west coast but now calls Toronto home, is a gifted musical interpreter and I suspect she could be a good songwriter. She says she mulled that possibility over when planning this record, but opted instead to stick with material she knows and loves.
After listening to the album, I can’t say I blame her for going down the road she chose “ she does some very interesting things with some of these tracks.
Matthew is already enjoying some success internationally with the record, netting radio play in Australia, the Netherlands, and the Virgin Islands.
This is an artist to watch.
Listen to Cara Matthew’s Make You Feel My Love
