Anita Baker

◎出色、優(yōu)質(zhì)與高雅的化身，榮獲八座葛萊美獎節(jié)奏藍調(diào) / 爵士女伶
 
節(jié)奏藍調(diào)女歌手安妮塔．貝克在八○年代的出現(xiàn)猶如一股暖洋洋的熱帶微風(fēng)徐徐掃過流行樂壇。她的歌聲平實不禁令人想起當(dāng)代多位爵士女伶Nancy Wilson、Carmen McCrae、Sarah Vaughan甚至爵士第一夫人埃拉．費茲杰羅。外型嬌小留著短發(fā)有雙大眼睛的安妮塔怎么看也不像擁有飽滿的歌喉，當(dāng)然更不像高昂的Aretha Franklin或Patti LaBelle，也因此安妮塔的出現(xiàn)樹立其獨特的風(fēng)格。
 
1957年出生于美國俄亥俄州，成長于底特律的安妮塔．貝克并非一夕成名，七○年代晚期她曾參加一個團體叫Chapter 8不過并不成功，直到1983年她才被說服以個人姿態(tài)再闖歌壇，首張專輯「The Songstress」開宗明義表明安妮塔是一實力派女唱將，其中首支單曲&No More Tears&和&Angel&都受到樂迷注意，這兩首歌自然也收錄在「Sweet Love: The Very Best Of」精選里。
 
安妮塔真正成名是在1986年的第二張專輯「Rapture」發(fā)行之后，其中的&Sweet Love&得到Billboard單曲第8名，更多的樂迷喜歡上安妮塔歌曲那種舒緩的曲調(diào)與慵懶的唱法，她自己也提過：「我希望帶給人們的音樂是那種屬于都會型的；想象你一下班回到家脫掉高跟鞋，癱在沙發(fā)上時最想聽的那種音樂就是了」。
 
1988年第三張專輯「Giving You The Best That I Got」問市，更將安妮塔的音樂事業(yè)推向巔峰，不僅專輯拿下Billboard冠軍，同名單曲和&Just Because&也雙雙成為節(jié)奏藍調(diào)榜冠軍。
 
1990年的第四張專輯「Compositions」顯示安妮塔在創(chuàng)作上的才華，多首歌都出自自己手筆，包括單曲&Talk To Me&。相隔四年，最后一張在Elektra唱片旗下的專輯「Rhythm Of Love」發(fā)行之后，渴望回歸家庭的安妮塔告別了歌壇。
 
by Steve Huey
 
With her classy, refined brand of romantic soul, Anita Baker was one of the definitive quiet storm singers of the 80s. Gifted with a strong, supple alto, Baker was influenced not only by R&B, but jazz, gospel, and traditional pop, which gave her music a distinctly adult sophistication. Smooth and mellow, but hardly lifeless, it made her one of the most popular romantic singers of her time.
 
Baker was born January 26, 1958, in Toledo, OH, and raised in nearby Detroit, where she grew up listening to female jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. At age 12, she began singing a gospel choir, and by age 16 she was performing with several local bands. In 1975, she successfully auditioned for Chapter 8, one of Detroits most popular acts at the time; the group eventually signed with Ariola and released an album in 1979, but were immediately dropped when the label was acquired by Arista (which didnt care for Bakers vocals). Chastened, Baker worked low-paying jobs in Detroit and eventually found steady work as a receptionist at a law firm. In 1982, Otis Smith — an executive whod worked with Chapter 8 — contacted Baker about recording for his new label Beverly Glen. Happy with her employment benefits and skittish over the experience with Arista, Baker was reluctant at first, but eventually flew out to the West Coast to record her debut album, The Songstress, in 1983. Though it didnt gain quite enough exposure to become a hit, it did help Baker build a strong fan base through word-of-mouth and she was signed by Elektra in 1985.
 
Working with producer Michael J. Powell (an old Chapter 8 cohort), Baker released her major-label debut Rapture in 1986. It was a platinum, Grammy winning smash, appealing to both urban and adult contemporary listeners and producing two all-time quiet storm classics in Caught Up in the Rapture and Sweet Love. Baker toured the world in 1987 and her guest appearance on the Winans track Aint Got No Need to Worry won a Grammy. Her equally stylish follow-up album, Giving You the Best That I Got, appeared in 1988, spawning more staples in the title track and Just Because. Giving You the Best That I Got also won Baker two more Grammys, for Best Female R&B Vocal and Best R&B Song. For her third Elektra album, Baker decided to handle a greater share of the songwriting, hence the title Compositions, which was released in 1990 and featured even stronger jazz inflections than Bakers previous work (not to mention all live instruments).
 
Following Compositions, Baker took a break from recording and touring; after having her first son in 1993, she returned to the studio to craft Rhythm of Love, which was released in 1994. In the years that followed, Baker was mostly silent, despite her fans clamoring for a jazz album; instead, she raised her family and became embroiled in contract disputes with Elektra, which eventually led her to move to Atlantic. She began working on a new album in 2000, but had to start over from scratch due to defective recording equipment that made the original tracks unsalvageable. In 2004 it was announced that she had signed with Blue Note and still working on her new album. In the meantime, the Atlantic imprint Rhino released Night of Rapture: Live, a 1987 concert originally available on video. Baker finally returned to the studio in 2003 and issued My Everything, her first album in 10 years. Two years later she released her first holiday album, Christmas Fantasy.