GrooveOut Take the K Train Koo-Koo for Kylie and Koop Kylie Minogue Fever (Capitol Records) by Chris Sill

Call it a gift. Call it a curse. If there’s one thing the majority of gay men exceed at, it’s obsessing over female performers. We just can’t help it. We’re born with it. This inherent love affair with female vocalists is what led some gay men to Kylie Minogue in the first place.

Let’s face it–except for club DJs and trainspotting club queens who dedicate their social lives to discovering the next diva, not many people really know who Kylie is in this country. Okay, there was that questionable remake Minogue did of Little Eva’s "Locomotion" in the late ’80s, but seven albums and countless worldwide hits later, nothing else has hit for Minogue in the States.

But despite the void of American attention, Kylie is one glowing sweetheart phenomenon. Her long list of accomplishments includes being the only act in the history of British pop music to have their first 13 releases all make England’s top 10 chart. Not bad. Her current single "Can’t Get You Out of My Head?" peaked at #1 in 17 countries and recently topped the Billboard Dance Chart, an encouraging sign that this sexy siren is on course to melt American audiences. With Fever, her eighth studio album, Minogue hopes to do just that.

Fever’s upbeat set of sugary-sweet pop dance tunes is highly contagious, and not just to gay men and teenage girls (who frequently seem to share musical tastes). We’re talking huge demographic crossover here. When both eight-year-old girls and 60-year-old straight men are asking for Kylie at Soundwaves, it’s a good bet that a hit is in the making.

Is it that good? Well, it won’t be winning album of the year, but I’ll bet it will take up residence in your disc changer for months. Why? How does "tastes great, less filling" sound? A recipe queens love to live by and one that’s kept Kylie in our corner for 13 years.

Koop Waltz for Koop (Jazzanova Compost Records)

For a slightly more filling dish (albeit a bit of an acquired taste), add a dash of Koop to your musical palette. Although compact–clocking in at a mere 35 minutes–it’s teeming with the flavor of 1960s-esque jazz. From swinging Latin rhythms to hard-bop soloing, Swedish composers/producers Oscar Simonsson and Magnus Zingmark brilliantly recreate the lush and breezy world of lounge-jazz on Waltz for Koop.

"Koop" means "cooperation," and that tells the story of this beautifully constructed set.

While scores of similarly styled CDs rely wholly on electronically manufactured beats, Koop’s fresh, summery sound belongs to live bass, bongos, and vibes. At times it’s impossible to detect where the sampler ends and the live instrumentation begins. These Swedes steer clear of the traditional view of jazz as improvisation; instead, they interpret jazz as rhythm and form. This theory creates an ideal backdrop for vocals to take center stage, and they do so, quite effectively. On "Modal Mile," acclaimed London beat-poet Earl Zinger portrays a cold and lonely walk down 10th Street in New York City; Cecilia Stalin takes the CDs title track "Waltz for Koop" to 7th heaven with her buoyant voice. Singing the praises of "Summer Sun" is teenage sensation Yukimi Nagano. The Koop boys spotted her at a jazz talent contest and quickly scooped her up for two songs on the album. Legendary jazz vocalist Terry Callier lends his soulful pipes to the emotionally charged yet dark and brooding "In a Heartbeat." The results are spellbinding.

Koop have managed to accomplish something rare in today’s world of electronic music, an album that sounds refreshingly real with just the right amount of electronics. Waltz for Koop is as much for purists as it is for today’s computer composers. If you love St. Germain, you’ll be waltzing for Koop. As for the cover photo displaying the boys’ love for wearing dresses? Who knew cross-dressing was so stylish?

Houston’s True Diva

by Debbie Ratliff

Houstonian Yvonne Washington–who has been likened to Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, and Erykah Badu–has released her latest CD, Holiday, featuring her performance of "Autumn in New York" for the soundtrack to the Richard Gere and Wynona Ryder film. Whether it’s slow ballads, jazz standards, or her own lyrics, Washington puts heart into her music as one of the top female vocalists in Texas. Washington started singing solo at the age of 5. She was the opening act for Stevie Wonder on his 1970 European tour as well as for Martha and the Vandellas. This is a must-have for jazz lovers. You will find Washington performing at Brennan’s for Sunday brunch. Holiday with Yvonne Washington is now available at Cactus and Soundwaves. For more on Washington, visit www.yvonnewashington.com.

Another True Diva

by Blase DiStefano

Bernadette Peters lends her powerful pipes to the songs of one of the greatest collaborations in history, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. She breathes life into such songs as "If I Loved You" from Carousel, "It’s a Grand Night for Singing" from State Fair, and "There Is Nothin’ Like a Dame" from South Pacific. As music historian and radio personality Jonathan Schwartz says, "Her both wicked and wrenching singing, honest and therefore penetrating, tough and therefore vulnerable, wry and therefore hilarious, is brutal, sexy, disorienting, nurturing, heartbreaking, and kind." What do we say? "There is nothin’ like this dame!" From Angel Records.

Becoming Divas

by Debbie Ratliff

The folk-pop duo, Indigo Girls, are releasing their eighth studio album, Become You, on March 12. This is arguably the best work of their remarkable two-decade career. The first single, "Moment of Forgiveness," is a simple, open-hearted melodic song of reconciliation. The album, which was recorded in their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, blends 12 beautifully constructed songs that show off the Indigo Girls’ contrasting but complimentary songwriting styles which are reminiscent of the simplicity of their earlier work. From Sony Music Entertainment. For more on the Indigo Girls, visit www.indigogirls.com.