Martina Sorbara

Take the best of such coyly confident and sweetly forceful female performers as Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Diana Krall, Jane Siberry and Jewel, to name just a few, blend them together and you get a concoction somewhat approximate to that churned out in droves by gifted Ontario singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Folky piano, acoustic guitar and sometimes hauntingly stark vocal arrangements are unabashedly, even proudly, smeared and mixed with bold streaks of jazz, country, torch songs, pop, cabaret and rock. This impossibly young performer's security in her musical and vocal ability and turn of phrasing means nearly every note of Sorbara's debut effort exudes a bold sexiness many performers, female or male, could only wish for. An extremely mature mix of diverse yet simple songs not often seen on many releases, let alone a first release.