Michelle Lordi - Drive (2015)

With a voice pleasing to the connoisseur of the elegant 30’s & 40’s era girl singers, yet surprisingly modern in its clarity and emotion, Michelle’s drive to create innovative music has her poised to become the jazz scene’s new sweetheart .

The lineup of musicians on Drive (Grammy nominated Orrin Evans, Tom Lawton, Larry McKenna, Dan Monaghan and Madison Rast) belies that this is no ordinary “me- too” jazz vocalist. Over the past few years, Michelle has lead bands featuring these stellar talents heard here on Drive. An upswell of recognition and avid audience appreciation keeps Michelle head lining jazz venues.

Review:
“Michelle Lordi sings in a way that is uncommon today: simple, straightforward, direct, and conveying the emotions in the way we all do: in our voice inflections. No gimmicks. This is a style that emerged in the swing and cool jazz eras, a strict adherence to the tune that virtually vanished as singers began to add embellishments, scat, and too often a hysterical emotionality where personality crowded out the melody. In particular, Lordi owes something special to Chet Baker and Blossom Dearie…. Cool uncorrupted understatement that swings is a way to describe Lordi's vocal style in a nutshell. Her voice is clear and never shrill, her diction is flawless, and she uses almost no vibrato. So what you get is the pure unadulterated song.” ~Victor Schermer, Jazz Near You