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Permalink Reply by Kyla Fairchild on February 2, 2011 at 4:23pm

I'd never heard of her prior to seeing her name here. Checked out her websites, both of which are lacking in terms of hearing her music. I checked out the ABC Nightline feature you linked to above which was interesting. Is she a song stylist (aka a better looking Susan Boyle) or did she also write some of her own songs? She's got an amazing voice, no doubt about that.

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Permalink Reply by S Peterkin on February 2, 2011 at 7:44pm

Kyla, Thanks so very much for your reply and great question.  Eva did write a song or two but it is her vocals, arrangements and her ability to work in any music genre (well almost any...folk,blues,jazz,country,pop,american popular song) that is her gift.  I've posted a few more  links for her recordings in the opening to this discussion.  I think you'll agree after listening that she encompassed a much larger area of talent/creativity than Susan Boyle has to this point.  See the review in my blog for more on Eva. -Scott

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Permalink Reply by Manfred Freitag on February 2, 2011 at 11:37pm

My father and mother used to listen to her records when he was dying in hospice. They would lay together and play the cassettes in a boombox he kept by his bed. I used to feel guilty when I would walk in with some water for him, like I was breaking an intimate moment to pieces.

 

He requested her cover of "Fields of Gold" at his memorial service. I didn't know anything about her (and I was the music "expert" in the family.) It's still painful for me to listen to her but this new record is pretty stunning.

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Permalink Reply by Kyla Fairchild on February 3, 2011 at 8:28am

What a sweet comment. I can imagine how painful it must have been, but in my mind I envision it as a scene in a movie with Eva's music as the soundtrack. I'm sorry for your loss.

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Permalink Reply by S Peterkin on February 3, 2011 at 8:40am

Good to learn that your family found comfort in Eva's music.  So much of the time she played for only a handfull of listeners.  It always interests me to learn how far her music has reached.

 

Thanks for providing a comment on the new recording.  I agree, "stunning" is a word that most certainly applies here. 

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Permalink Reply by TenLayers on February 3, 2011 at 9:18am

And that's the true worth of music I think, when the music itself becomes something more, something bigger.  The maker of the music has no idea really what's going to happen once it gets put out into the universe...who will connect to it, who will reject it.

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Permalink Reply by S Peterkin on February 3, 2011 at 11:38am

TenLayers your point about connecting with the music is well taken.  In Eva's story she worked on the Buffy St Marie song, Waly Waly, over the objection - no make that strong objection of her producer, Chris Biondo.  The original recording by Ms St Marie is challenging to listen to and I must admit that I would have un unable to, as you say, "connect to it."  Cassidy's musical vision was validated after her death when Biondo teamed with Capitol Steps pianist  (and Eva Cassidy Band member) Lenny Williams to finish the supporting instrumentation for her outstanding vocal.    I find this a touching part of Cassidy's legacy as even someone who woked closely with her could not appreciate her creativity during the time the song was work on but later was a champion of the end result.  I've provided a link to Waly Waly at the top of the discussion.

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Permalink Reply by Staxnet on February 5, 2011 at 8:25am

Having grown up in the Washington DC area, I have been a long time Eva fan.  One album of hers that I particularly like is The Other Side, which pairs Eva up with Chuck Brown, the godfather of Go-Go (a sub-genre of funk popular in the mid-Atlantic region).   The Other Side is a collection of blues, soul and gospel standards that Eva and Chuck make shine.  I have not heard the new album, but I look forward to it.

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Permalink Reply by S Peterkin on February 7, 2011 at 8:45am

Staxnet, thanks for the comment.  Eva's years of performance (the mid 90s) preceed the big internet explosion.  I wonder with sites like No Depression - dedicated to music and being read frequently by those who seek it out - if fans might have eventually made a difference. 

 

From my own experience I'd say the answer is a certain "yes".   On a hunch several years ago I attended a show by singer/songwriter Coles Whalen at a wings joint a few miles from my house.  I was so impressed that I passed on my recomendation to the host of a local house concert where as an unknown she later appeared.  The response there was so positive that the host received repeated emails about her return, something which finally will happen this month.

 

I'd like to think the same word-of-mouth success would have happened for Eva.  DC isn't that far from Atlanta (where I live) and it is entirely possible that I could have read about her and made the trip.  One of the lessons of her life is for fans to pay attention to emerging artists - those who most deserve to be heard by a larger audience. 

 

btw - here is a link to Coles singing one of her latest songs

Coles Whalen - Can't Treat Me Bad

 

One more thing, she was one of the first artists I read about who credited Eva as being a musical inspiration.  Unlike so many who try to sound like Eva, Coles is different.  She listened to Eva's music much the same way Eva listened to Ella, Judy Collins, Joan Baez and so many others.  Listening to Eva, Coles learned how to transition her voice from one that blended - a skill she learned being part of a famous children's choir - to one that is comfortable fronting a band.  What a fascinating next chapter of Eva's story.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Kohler-Trott on February 8, 2011 at 1:32pm

This new album "Simply Eva" is, for me, a dream come true.   Eva Cassidy, more than any other artist I have ever heard, makes me want to get close to her voice.  With a presentation of just Eva's voice and her guitar, "Simply Eva" offers the listener a very fresh and intimate concert.

 

I have long been enchanted with a story Eva's mom, Barbara Cassidy, tells about traveling in Greece with Eva.  Eva brought her guitar along on that trip and evenings would find the Cassidy family on their hotel rooftop, relaxing, enjoying the view and listening to Eva sing and play.   A few minutes into Eva's impromptu concert, Barbara Cassidy noticed people of the village and tourists would flock to their nearby windows and terraces to listen. 

 

 That image has been imprinted in my mind and soul. The "Simply Eva" album gives us Eva's fans the opportunity to have a front row seat on that rooftop.

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Permalink Reply by S Peterkin on February 18, 2011 at 4:57pm

Eva Cassidy Singing San Francisco Bay Blues

 

I think this video will help explain what I find so unusual about Eva Cassidy.  The traditionally brisk paced blues is slowed to a crawl and jazz chords are introduced - a totally original approach to a song which has by now been copied in more common arrangements by hundreds of well known musicians.  Along comes Eva - a totally unknown artist and this arrangement places her at the front of the line of interpreters of Americana music.

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Permalink Reply by Janice Brooks on February 19, 2011 at 10:08pm

It's the one album I bought last week I have not unwrapped. I got the recommendation from some Facebook buddies

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