I may not have mentioned it (HA!) but I have been a Mariah Carey fan from first hearing her debut song Vision of Love on the radio in summer of 1990. I actually drove directly to the record store (kids, ask your parents what that is) and tracked down the release date of the single. When it came out, I bought at least 10 copies of the cassingle (that is an obsolete word!) and gave one to anyone who came into range. So - it was no shock to me that she became and remains one of the biggest musical stars in the world. She is at or near the top of every poll and list of the best singers ever, due to her five-octave vocal range as well as the extraordinary command she has over it. She also has a unmistakable tonal quality that is often compared to velvet.
Mariah works mainly in the pop and R & B genres, with forays into other genres from time to time. Here I've collected some songs from my favorite alternative category in which she performs, jazz. OK -Don't Play That Song is an Aretha Franklin cover, but in the cabaret setting I find it quasi-jazzy. I fully expect that as Mariah ages, we will see more and more jazz and standard recordings from her, as the "pop" music machine spits out most artists who no longer appeal to the youngest of music listeners. But, like Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett, those artists like Mariah whose careers are based on talent are able to remain relevant well into "retirement age" and beyond. In fact, Tony Bennett's Duets II CD, from which I feature below his recording with Mariah, is the #1 selling CD in the country this week - and his first #1 album, at age 85!
From Tony Bennett's new Duets II CD
The Wind, from Mariah's Emotions CD
Christmas Time Is Here, from Merry Christmas II You
From her video collection "The First Vision" - a live performance prior to the release of her debut CD - Randy Jackson from American Idol can be seen playing in the band (behind the back-up singers, with a Kid-n-Play hi-top fade)
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