Reviewed by Tony Cummings

This is the debut album from a New Zealand-born, Cambridge-based singer, songwriter and music teacher and hugely impressive it is too. It can best be described as jazz gospel and although Rudy names Betty Carter as a major musical influence for me her delightful tones were nearer to Billie Holliday or maybe Corinne Bailey Rae. Her songs are deft observations on life and the Kingdom with the haunting "Light" and the moving "Call Heaven Home" particular standouts. A customer review on iTunes enthused that Rudy's was "one of the most amazing voices that one can hear. . . very soulful and inspirational. . . and will blow a fresh wind through the genres of gospel and jazz." Maybe the customer's final comment, "This will soon be an album that becomes a top seller," is extremely optimistic considering the difficulties in distributing an independent release but he has rightly identified an impressive new talent to the UK scene.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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