Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

Among my Christmas gifts were two CDs that are so delightful, I would like all lovers of timeless music as well as collectors to add them to their stash. The first is Evolution Jamaica Popular Song 2007.

The second is A.J. Brown's Voice of Love. It has 10 contemporary and timeless classics namely: Con Te Partiro (Time to say goodbye), You Raise Me Up, All I Ask of You, A Love Until the End of Time, Lady of Spain, The Loveliest Night of the Year, I'll Walk with God, The Music of the Night, Ave Maria, and Without a Song.

The CD is the collaborative effort of some unlikely players - executive producer Daphne Chin-Loy, publisher G. Raymond Chang (successful Jamaican-Canadian businessman) and production co-ordinator Lucy La Grassa.

The smooth orchestra you will hear accompanying Brown comprises: Lance Anderson, piano, synthesiser; J.K. Gully on acoustic guitar; Gary Craig on drums; Ron Korb plays the flute, penny whistle and bass flute and Tony Carlucci is on trumpet. The strings concertmaster was under the leadership of Jeff Ten Kortenaar and the CD was recorded and mixed at Cherry Beach Sound in Toronto, Canada.

Raw talent

I have long been convinced of Brown's raw talent but the first time I heard his interpretation of Lucia Quarantotto/Francisco Sartre's Time to Say Goodbye, his mastery as a singer, with the ability to switch genres to accommodate all tastes, was more deeply reinforced. From the tourist who wants a relaxed Day-O to the reggae connoisseur who grooves to lovers rock or people of my late father's generation who revel in the standards of Sinatra, Brown adapts with chamelion-like ease.

Except for Lady of Spain, all the songs are among my favourites and accompany me packaged in their original CDs in traffic daily. So, Josh Groban now has fierce competition in Brown's seductive rendition of You Raise Me Up. Along with Ave Maria and I'll Walk With God, this selection will satisfy the musical desires of listeners who want a good dose of spiritual inspiration instead of a diet of monotonous, theme repeating talk shows.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's fans have yet another credible and relevant voice to savour in Brown's take of The Music of the Night and All I Ask of You from the Broadway musical The Phantom of the Opera. And, if you thought Placido Domingo and Maureen McGovern did justice to A Love Until the End of Time, give a listening ear to Brown's cover of this timeless classic.

THE difference

What can one say about The Loveliest Night of the Year? Just go back to the days when your parents first fell in love with each other (and Mario Lanza). This one made the difference to the movie The Great Caruso starring Ann Blyth. Growing up in the country, Sunday afternoons were not complete without the hours spent listening to singers like Perry Como whose Without a Song gets the unique A. J. Brown touch on this CD. We did not quite appreciate the "old people's music then but today, it's a whole other story. Brown is in august company as other legends like Billy Ekstine, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, are just a few of the men who have covered this song. The orchestra here has captured all the notes and if you close your eyes you may just see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers circling the floor.

Aah, bliss! Well done A.J., dare we hope that as did Rod Stewart when he found his second spring, you will produce other volumes of like material?

You can purchase copies of A.J. Brown Voice of Love at Liguanea Drug & Garden, Derrick Harriott's Music Mart in Twin Gates and Mobile Music in Liguanea and Upper Manor Park and Tropical plazas.