Lisa Ekdahl: Back To Earth

John Sharpe

Contributor

Recent articles (115 total)

Published: July 1, 1999

Lisa Ekdahl was a pop star in her native Sweden before she decided to crossover into the jazz field. Her debut jazz effort, When Did You Leave Heaven, (in spite of so-so reviews) sold over 100.000 copies worldwide. Lisa shows signs of improvement throughout Back to Earth, yet for some listeners her squeaky, girlish voice may be a bit of an acquired taste. This is one singer whom I suspect has listened to one to many Billie Holiday records. Unlike "Lady Day" however, her wispy voice and mannered, clipped delivery don't always manage to carry the weight of the lyrics on this collection of evergreens and standards. As was the case with her previous CD, Ekdahl is accompanied by the Peter Nordahl Trio and they supply her with solid, unobtrusive support. Repeated listenings reveal a certain charm and warmth hidden beneath Ekdahl's cool, stereotypical, Nordic exterior. * * *

Record Label: RCA Victor
Style: Straight-ahead/Mainstream