SPOTLIGHT: Charmaine Neville

I first heard about Charmaine Neville years ago from a friend of mine. Of course I knew and loved the Neville Brothers, but this was when she was just getting started as a singer on her own. My friend worked downtown and had seen her perform in a few small clubs. His assessment of her talents was "She's better than the Neville Brothers." Now while I'm not going to compare fathers and daughters, both acts are great, I will say she is an amazing talent.

Charmaine is the third generation of the multi talented Neville family. She is the daughter of Charles Neville. Charmaine's music is usually called a fusion of jazz and funk. She doesn't like to pigeonhole her sound. "All music is good music,"she says firmly. "I try to cover the whole spectrum and do just everything. I don't want to be stagnated and stuck in a rut..."

She has assembled one of the tightest bands around. Fame saxophonist Reggie Houston plays regularly with her. Live Charmaine shines. Her shows are amazing. (There's that word again, but there is just no other way to describe her.) She sings, she talks, she dances, she whirls around the stage.

She's only released three albums, none since the start of the new decade. Her albums are good, but to fully appreciate her you must see her live. The song is from 2007 Jazz and Heritage Festival, "You Put A Spell On Me."