Emkay Connor

Mark O'Connor's second CD with his Hot Swing Trio is more than just a salute to the late, legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli; it firmly establishes as him as a bona fide jazz violin virtuoso, thanks to being distributed by a major label this time around. The capable guitarist Frank Vignola plays gypsy swing à la Django Reinhardt without sounding like a clone; bassist Jon Burr, who spent a decade as a member of Grappelli's rhythm section in his last years, provides a perfect match for his two bandmates. Each member of the trio contributed originals to the session. O'Connor's "In Full Swing" is absolutely breathtaking, while it is fun imagining how Grappelli and Reinhardt might have interpreted his enticing "Stephane and Django"…

Two of singer Chris Connor's finest Atlantic albums are reissued in full on this single CD. The laid-back yet coolly emotional jazz singer is heard backed by top-notch rhythm sections (with either Ralph Sharon or Stan Free being the pianist/arranger) and occasional horns (trumpeter Joe Wilder, flutist Sam Most, tenors Al Cohn and Lucky Thompson, flutist Bobby Jaspar and Al Epstein on English horn and bass clarinet) adding some short solos. Connor (then around 30) was in her prime, and her renditions of such songs as "Poor Little Rich Girl," "Lonely Town," "I'm Shooting High," "Moonlight in Vermont," and even "Johnny One Note" are memorable and sometimes haunting.

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got became Sinéad O'Connor's popular breakthrough on the strength of the stunning Prince cover "Nothing Compares 2 U," which topped the pop charts for a month. But even its remarkable intimacy wasn't adequate preparation for the harrowing confessionals that composed the majority of the album…

Joanna Connor's fourth album for Blind Pig finds her still working solidly in blues-rock territory with plenty of her blistering slide guitar work well to the fore. Connor penned all 11 of the tunes here, co-writing one of them with guitarist Ron Johnson and the other with drummer Boyd Martin; her songwriting chops show considerable added depth and improvement on this go round. Still keeping her sound in the time-honored road-band format of two guitars, bass and drums. She brings aboard background vocals on "Slide It In," "Got To Have You" and "Pea Vine Blues," the latter also featuring some nice fingerpicked guitar from Ron Johnson. Connors' guitar positively blisters on "My Man," "Free Free Woman" and others, making this one of her strongest outings.

Contemporary singers like Diana Krall have the sleek cocktail-diva act down pat: one part slinky dress; one part slow, sexy songs; and one part deep, smoky voice. Krall, though, learned from a number of women, like Chris Connor, who wrote the book on torch singing back in the '50s. Recorded in 1960, A Portrait of Chris finds the singer accompanied by a lively band and strings as she interprets a dozen standards. Conner's calling card is her lovely, deep voice. It reaches down and delivers ballads like "Here's That Rainy Day" and "All Too Soon" in rich, full colors. Like Julie London, Conner's cool and calm approach always gives the impression that it's three a.m. and only a handful of people remain in the bar. She infuses "Sweet William" and "If I Should Lose You" with sad longing, leaving one to imagine her the loneliest person on the planet…

Chicago-based slide guitar virtuoso and singer-songwriter, Joanna Connor, best known as one of the reigning Queens of blues rock guitar, releases her 14th album on Joe Bonamassa's new independent record label Keeping The Blues Alive. The new album, the follow up to her critically acclaimed studio album "Rise," was produced by Joe Bonamassa in Nashville. Joanna and Joe and the rest of the musicians on the album dug deeply and conjured up an authentic, alive and kicking set of Chicago Blues.

Sons and Lovers is the second album by English singer Hazel O'Connor, released in November 1980 by Albion Records…

Joanna Connor is an American Chicago-based blues singer, songwriter, and virtuosa guitarist. What sets Joanna Connor apart from the rest of the pack of guitar-playing female blues singers is her skill on the instrument. Even though Connor has become an accomplished singer over time, her first love was guitar playing, and it shows in her live shows and on her recordings. She covers the range of modern blues, slide guitar and blues rock with her own compositions very much influenced by funk, rock, jazz and world music as well as delta blues. Her sense of melody, phrasing and dynamics along with a very modern technique make her a very funky, soulful and compelling guitarist. As for vocal abilities, if Joanna wasn't a guitarist, she could easily be a lead singer in any band.