Probably best known for her work with electro-jazz duo Koop, Swedish vocalist Cecilia Stalin has been on my radar for quite some time. She has released a handful of singles on various underground jazz, soul, and broken-beat labels, and has collaborated with an eclectic bunch of artists, ranging from Daz-I-Kue and Cinematic Orchestra, to Omar and Nate James. Finally stepping out on her own, she has just released a solo project entitled Step Like A Giant, a tribute album to jazz legend John Coltrane. Cecilia describes the album as her "way of reaching out to people today that haven't been introduced to the music of John Coltrane, who haven't been introduced to jazz in a way that appeals to them, to people who don't know jazz at all..." An ambitious project it certainly is, but by incorporating aspects of soul, hip-hop and "nu" as well as traditional jazz, Cecilia manages to make it sound both authentic and accessible to those who don't consider themselves fans of jazz music in general. I'm still digesting the album as a whole but had to share the title track -- a nod to Coltrane's Giant Steps -- and encourage you to check out the full release over at Cecilia's Bandcamp page.
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