Rachelle Ferrell began singing at the tender age of six years old. Her six octaves range allows her to sing in a whistle like register, very reminiscent of Minnie Riperton. Ferrell is unquestionably one of the most dynamic singers in contemporary popular music. A Berklee School graduate, she earned her chops, the old fashion, talent, dedication and hard work.
She emerged in 1992 with her stateside debut CD simply entitled 'Rachelle Ferrell' on Capitol records. It was then the world got the introduction to this megawatt talent and her sense of phrasing, sensabiltites, range and musicianship(classical training on piano and violin). Having to deal with the bureaucracy of the music business, most artist of her caliber are often misunderstand, mishandled, and lost in the shuffle. Rachelle Ferrell's debut was a 'monster' loaded with timeless singles, which allowed her to tour for two plus years in support of her debut. Her 'First Instrument' CD was released in Japan in 1990, and wouldn't see the light of day stateside until 1995, which mainstream America, assumed to be the followup to her debut, which in actuality, was the other way around. So very misleading, and understandably didn't receive the same attention as the seemingly 'predecessor'.
Politics again reared its ugly head. Whatever the reasons that Capitol/Blue Note didnt get it right, Ferrell has never released a proper followup to her stateside CD, which she was clearly deservant of, fans are still 'waiting'. Yes she has released several CD's here and there, but were only record label 'business' fillers. Today Ferrell continues to tour extensively, but has never received the attention and shine that her talent deserves.
Never heard of her. You're music collection must be very expansive.
ReplyDeleteJackie