Chaka Khan

CHAKA KHAN - CASSIKHAN (2004)

1.Hey Big Spender

2.Hazels Hips

3.Best Is Yet to Come, The

4.Crazy

5.I'm in the Mood For Love

6.Is That All There Is

7.Stormy Weather

8.Round Midnight

9.Teach Me Tonight

10.To Sir With Love

11.Diamonds Are Forever

12.Goldfinger

13.I Believe

Chaka Khan is backed by a nicely understated jazz combo and the subtly seductive strings of the London Symphony Orchestra on this finely tuned set of classic jazz standards and pop tunes. Though Khan is not best known for her laid-back approach ... Full Descriptionto the vocal arts, here she displays both taste and restraint. The track list runs the gamut of styles, from Willie Nelson's country classic "Crazy," here given a Ray Charles-style makeover, to the macabre "Is That All There Is," best known in its Peggy Lee interpretation. However, Khan shows her true mettle on the twin James Bond themes of "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Goldfinger," giving the British belter Shirley Bassey a run for her money with incendiary versions of both songs. Elsewhere, Khan's jazzy rendition of the Lulu hit "To Sir with Love" demonstrates both her elastic vocal prowess and her continuing ability to hit some stratospheric high notes. Classy, romantic, and lushly orchestrated, CLASSIKHAN reveals Chaka Khan's mature vocal talents at a peak.

Personnel: Chaka Khan (vocals); Andy Snitzer (clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Joe Sample (piano); Sheila E. (percussion); London Symphony Orchestra.