Personnel: Summer, Marcelo Alvarez (vocals); Dominic Miller, John Paracelli (guitar); Richard Harvey (pipes); Nigel Hitchcock (soprano saxophone); Marcelo Alvarez (tenor saxophone); Richard Cottle (keyboards); Pino Paladino, Yolanda Bould (bass); Nick Patrick (percussion, programming); Miles Bould (percussion); Rita Cambell (background vocals); The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recorded between 2001 & 2002.
She's blond, beautiful, and she can sing. Summer, a classically trained English soprano, debuts with a self-titled release that's sure to place her in the upper echelon of crossover artists. Under the guidance of Nick Patrick, producer of tenor sensation Russell Watson, the singer has assembled an eclectic program that showcases her versatility--arias and art songs sit side-by-side with covers of pop hits, arrangements of film score themes, and vocal adaptations of well-known classical melodies.
What sets Summer apart from crossover divas such as Sarah Brightman, however, is an earthy approach that makes her performances fresh and natural. The sultry singer is confident and comfortable in a variety of settings, whether showing off her conservatory credentials in Vivaldi's "Sposa Son Disprezzata" or Dvorak's "Song to the Moon," waxing romantic in Ennio Morricone's "Nella Fantasia," or displaying pop-style flair in her versions of hits by Sting ("Fragile") and the Gipsy Kings ("Palabra De Honor"). And when called for, she can belt it out. Her singing in "Tutta La Vita," a duet with tenor Marcello Alvarez, is powerful and emotive without resorting to bombast. Nick Ingram's arrangements work perfectly with Summer's distinctive vocal style to create the aura of lush sensuality that permeates this fine debut disc.
