The New Lady Sings The Blues: Jacqui Walker – “God Bless The Child”

Jacqui Walker

“God Bless The Child”

Jacqui Walker

My God, what a voice.  Jacqui Walker has one of those voices that literally take your breath away.  And, anyone who has the guts to do a Billie Holliday song, and then to do it better, is absolutely amazing.  Walker never tries to do anything but sing the song, no extra notes, no ‘birdcages’, no extras, just a heart-felt version of a lovely song.  Walker sings as if she believes ever word, and I believe she does.  According to her bio:

Jacqui Walker was born in Amityville, Long Island to parents of West Indian/Belizean heritage. Raised in West Philadelphia and nurtured by her parent’s love of music, she and her brother Leslie took theatre and dance classes throughout their childhood. Jacqui joined the New Freedom Theater in Philadelphia at the age of 10 and was accepted into Philadanco four years later.  Jacqui’s influences include Little Jimmy Scott, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Terrence Trent Darby, Ani DiFranco, Skunk Anansie , and Tracy Chapman.

The crazy thing is, she decided not to pursue music at first.  Thank God for all of us that she changed her mind.  She is a talent to be reckoned with.  I love her voice, her look, her everything.  This is someone we are going to be hearing more from, trust me.