One darn good singer

Reviewed October 2007

With a musical palette extending from house to electronica, techno to ambient, Colette would seem to be immersed in the European dance scene. Instead, she's a successful dance club d.j. out of Chicago who, it turns out, is a pretty darn good singer, too.

On her second album, the singularly named singer (family name: Marino) shows range, touch, timing and class – all wrapped around a strong collection of dance-ready songs. Already, the first track from this new disc, "About Us," is a club hit (although a Chuck Love remix has a fuller, thicker sound to it). The second song, "Call It Out," might be even better, though, with a more seductive main theme.

There are 10 songs here, but three of them are offered in remixed versions at the end, for a total of 13 tracks.

With her pure vocals and entrancing presence, Colette is so good it wouldn't be a surprise to see her show up on one of Stephane Pompougnac ever so chic Hotel Costes compilations.

Review by Jim Trageser. Jim is a writer and editor living in Escondido, Calif., and was a contributor to the "Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD" (1993) and "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues" (2005).