Album Notes

RETRO PLEASER CHARMIN MICHELLE, a local vocalist with savoir faire to spare, just released her third CD, "Hot". It spotlights Doug Haining and the Twin Cities Seven, an exemplary group modeled on Count Basie's Kansas City septet. Haining's clarinet is liquid and lustrous on "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing"; pianists Rick Carlson certainly is fit to sit in the Count's chair, and Gordy Knutson combines precision with easygoing flair. But it's Michelle's show, and she gently seduces the listener time after time, whether the fare is ageless blues, warm bossa, intimate love song, or upbeat novelty. She's a flower, a lovesome thing.

Tom Surowicz, Minneapolis Star Tribune - November 30, 2001