Rhiannon Giddens

AMERICAN THROUGH AND THROUGH

Rhiannon Giddens performed in the foreground as front woman of The Carolina Chocolate Drops. The band was all about traditional American music, and deftly interlaced country, blues, jazz, bluegrass, roots and folk into an idiosyncratic whole. The band’s charismatic singer already stood out with her distinctive voice and interpretation of the songs.

Giddens solo album Tomorrow Is My Turn suddenly appeared this spring. T-Bone Burnett saw to producing the album and, along with Giddens, jointly laid down the atmosphere and choice of songs. Here too Rhiannon Giddens flits effortlessly between gospel, blues, jazz and soul, yet goes one step further than with The Carolina Chocolate Drops, with which she again demonstrates the many facets of her voice.

Burnett (Costello, Roy Orbison, Tony Bennett) was a fan from the start: “It was clear the first time I heard her at rehearsal that Rhiannon is next in a long line of singers that include Marian Anderson, Odetta, Mahalia Jackson, Rosetta Tharpe. We need that person in our culture.”