Rossland Radio Co-op your voice in the wilderness

“INSIGHT” Flora Wise (Indie) ***
If you’re up for some time traveling, Flora Wise is the ticket you’ve been looking for.

Once upon a time the Fender Rhodes piano was an important part of the ‘soul’ sound. With “Insight” you keep checking the year on the calendar- hardly anybody makes records this suave and voluptuously soulful. Bijork and Leonard Cohen are admitted influences, but to me she sounds like across between Alicia Keys, Diana Krall, Sade and Madonna, with Madge’s pop sensibilities. Cabaret jazz it is- sort of- but Wise is too diverse to be cornered like that- smooth, seductive soul is probably closer to the center of it. The title track is an upbeat number, with one a killer sounding snare drum, like a John Bonham sample- it’s possible, as Led Zep is also a listed influence.
She’s been described as Alicia Keys’ and Ella Fitzgerald’s lovechild, and Flora Wise’s music is as cool (in every sense of the word) as that indicates. If I had to sum up “Insight” in one word, it would be “cool’… the Rhodes-sounding keyboard textures, the muted solo trumpet, subject matter and melodic twists suggesting 70’s-era soul along with Nina Simone’s jazziness. I’m willing to bet the rent that she’s exquisite live too. This month she’ll be on-stage in Nelson, Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Calgary, and even as far east as Saskatchewan. If you’re close to one of these places, make sure you catch the gig?

KEY CUTS: title track, “You Don’t Know What Love Is”, “Feeling Good”