Composer: Paurillo Barroso, Antonín Dvořák, Sergio Mendes, Xavier Montsalvatge, Heitor Villa-Lobos
Performer: Cyro Baptista, Christian McBride, Kathleen Battle, Romero Lubambo, Ira Coleman, Grover Washington Jr., Jon Herrington, Marlon Graves, Cyrus Chestnut, Antonio Hart, Steven Berrios, James Carter, Tom Harrell
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Sony
Catalogue: G010001222983B
Release: 1995
Size: 247 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
01. trad.: Hush (Somebody’s Calling My Name)
02. trad.: Canción de cuna
03. Ovalle: Azullo (Bluebird)
04. trad.: The Little Horses
05. Montsalvatge: Ninghe, Ninghe
06. trad.: Fais Do Do (Go to Sleep)
07. trad.: Angels Watching Over Me (All Night, All Day)
08. Dvořák: Going Home from “Largo” of Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ” From the New World”
09. Villa-Lobos: Melodia Sentimental (Sentimental Melody) (from Forest of the Amazon)
10. He’s Gone Away
11. trad.: Del Cabello Más Sutil (The Softest Hair)
12. Barroso: Para Niñar (Go to Sleep)
13. Mendes: So many stars
14. trad.: Interlude
15. trad.: Steal away
So Many Stars is the kind of album you want to hate. The idea of blending Kathleen Battle’s soprano voice with accomplished jazz musicians such as Grover Washington, Jr. and Cyrus Chestnut is the sort of idea that makes most serious music fans cringe. Surprisingly, Battle manages to pull it off. She succeeds because of her subdued approach, which is a bit of a surprise considering that the artist is best known for her raging temper. She takes on several familiar songs such as “Steal Away,” “Going Home,” and “The Little Horses,” but never tries to overpower them. Equally impressive is her work on Spanish and Portuguese tunes such as “Azulão” and “Para Niñar.” If most classical musicians took the kind of meticulous care that Battle does with So Many Stars, maybe the idea of crossover classical music would not be one that so many music lovers reflexively hate.