Billie Holiday in Overalls

There is so much good music out there, but once in a while you come across an artist that plain knocks you over. Jolie Holland just did that to me. Born and raised in Texas, and with Creole roots, her music has a Southern sound but with a West Coast shine and brilliance. As she says in Old Fashion Morphine from Escondida "It was good enough for my grandpa - it's good enough for me...", tradition is always important and evident here in singing style, melody and arrangement. Yet the sound is sharp and the themes up to date. The Catalpa CD has an especially brilliant sound, considering it was not intended for public ears. Listen to Black Stars from this demo-turned-very-well-seller... Don't miss the opportunity to stream the whole Catalpa album (link on the right). Who knows how long it will stay available! There are about four minutes of silence about five minutes into the stream - don't despair, the music returns at 7:58 or so. The title for this post comes from a 3hive post BTW. Update (April 6, 2006): The Catalpa stream is no longer available. Instead, you can stream 3 tracks from that albom using the links on the right. Enjoy.

Listen to 'Catalpa' tracks: All The Morning Birds December 1999 Ghost Waltz