*swoon*

In the spirit of unfairly compartmentalizing people, allow me to tell you that you will fit into one of the following categories. In order of most to least shameful:

1. You have never even heard of Brian Stokes Mitchell.

2. You hadn't heard of him until recently, because, say, you went to a Tabernacle Choir concert where he was performing, and now you really like him.

3. You knew who he was years ago and have been singing his praises forever.

I refuse to admit the existence of a fourth category (which, incidentally, would be the most shameful of all, and would therefore be labeled as zero): you don't like Brian Stokes Mitchell. For shame.

If you are in category one, you most certainly need to get yourself into category two, and work your way into category three. Even if you're in category three, you might only know him because of his Broadway work (Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate, Man of La Mancha...I could go on). And his Broadway work is fantastic. But you really need to check out his debut solo CD.

Almost all of the songs on this CD are indeed showtunes, but they're performed as if they're all jazz tunes. "Something's Coming," from West Side Story, is a fusion of Spanish dance and jazz--I defy you to listen and not tap your feet. I don't really care for Sondheim as a general rule, but I could listen to Brian Stokes Mitchell sing "Being Alive" forever. And my favorite tune on the album isn't a showtune at all: "Life is Sweet" is the peppiest, swingy-est, scatty-est jazz number ever, and you'll have to push "repeat." It's that good.

Brian Stokes Mitchell can sing anything, I swear. His voice is amazingly rich and so very expressive. (Hence the reason that the paring of him and Audra McDonald in Ragtime is so great--but that's for another post.) It will make you all melty inside. Even if you think you don't like jazz or showtunes, this album will change your mind. Do yourself a huge favor and pick it up. Because you can't have mine. It's autographed! Swoon, indeed.