A few weeks back the founder of the NL club
(thanks Paul!) posted a note to the Eva Cassidy club
regarding Nancy LaMott. At that time I had been reading
about Ms LaMott on Amazon plus a few other sites and
had asked for a recording for a Christmas gift. When
the recording arrived I felt the gift, much like
Eva's music, went far beyond a simple object - this was
a new sound that started on the first note of the
first song.<br><br>The similarities between Nancy
LaMott and Eva are many. Unfortunately, both died in the
1990's and had lives shorted due to illness. Like Eva,
Nancy was known for singing a song in a fashion that
made it appear new. An example is the song Skylark, by
Carmichael and Mercer. Alec Wilder in his book, American
Popular Song, describes this song as "a solid standard,
loved equally by singers and players". LaMott, like
Eva, in a way is both a singer and a player. LaMott's
rendition is more than another voice singing words of this
familiar melody. Instead one hears a voice which is
applied to words and music in a way that she alone has
heard. Like Eva with Over The Rainbow, listeners hear a
"standard" in a completely new way. Is this
genius?<br><br>Sadly, there are more common items between Nancy and
Eva. Both died relatively unknown. Nancy's career
might hold a clue to what may have happened to Eva.
Nancy was invited to the Clinton white house twice. She
appeared a few times on television. At the end of her life
she had (if memory serves) a quarter of a million
dollars in bookings. It was apparent that she was about
to become no longer unknown.<br><br>-----<br><br>I
posted the above message (changed slightly) to the Eva
Cassidy club a few days ago. Just one example of how
communication on the web about Nancy builds new fans. I am most
certainly one.<br><br>I welcome thoughts from others on how
they became NL fans.<br><br>Cheers<br><br>Scott