Lisa Biales Information

Lisa Biales' latest effort, Singing In My Soul (Big Song Music), teams the Ohio-based vocalist with Cincinnati piano man Ricky Nye and the Paris Blues Band (Thibaut Chopin - upright bass, Anthony Stelmaszack - guitar, Simon "Shuffle" Boyer - drums) on a diverse set of ten songs. Nine of the tunes are classics encompassing gospel, blues, old time pop, and even vintage rock n' roll, plus one original tune by Biales. Blue Lu Barker's "A Little Bird Told Me" opens the disc, an old timey pop tune with the Paris Blues Band contributing background harmony vocals. The band also backs Biales on a dazzling cover of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's "Strange Thing Happening. Mississippi John Hurt's "Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me" is one of several cuts that features violin from Doug Hamilton and a lovely piano break from Nye. The blues continues with a sharp version of Sippie Wallace's "You Got To Know How" and a wistful take on W.C. Handy's "Careless Love." Biales' interpretation of the doo-wop classic, "I Only Have Eyes For You," is absolutely stunning. Backed by Nye's understated piano and a liquidy guitar break from Stelmaszack, Biales' vocal performance is breathtaking. Equally impressive is her earthy read on the Patsy Cline classic, "Write Me In Care Of The Blues. The disc closes with another Tharpe cover, the title track, which swings like nobody's business. Among all these standards is the lone Biales original, the delightful "Magic Garden." Also assisting Biales on the recording are Bill Littleford (guitar), Chris Douglas (upright bass), and Brad Meinerding (mandolin). It's amazing that a singer as gifted as Lisa Biales isn't more widely regarded. Hopefully, Singing In My Soul will help her find the larger audience she deserves.