A New Singing Style:
"A new term, "Retronuevo", had to be invented to describe a style that fuses gospel, jazz and pop. The term, which was coined by the black music historian and critic Nelson George, evokes not only Miss Baker's singing but a broader reaction against overly mechanized music...Like Sarah Vaughan, Anita Baker is a contralto, although she has developed a high soprano head voice that extends her register to at least three octaves. At her sensational New York City concert debut in June at the JVC Jazz Festival, it was the rich, smoldering bottom end of the singer's voice that brought several spontaneous standing ovations. For a mainstream pop-soul singer, Miss Baker does a great deal of bold improvisation in swooping gliding phrases that are jazzy in their freedom and soul-oriented in their feverish emotional urgency.
''My story is a typical one,'' Miss Baker recalled. ''I'm a product of Detroit's inner city, from a single-parent home with four brothers and sisters. I started singing in church when I was 12, but in little storefront churches, not big city churches. For me that was crucial because the congregations in those storefront churches consisted mainly of old people who had migrated from the South, and the services and the music had an easy country spontaneity. If someone in the back row wanted to moan the last verse of a hymn while the minister came to the podium, it was okay.." from the article: THE POP LIFE; ANITA BAKER AND HER MUSICAL ROOTS
"Anita Baker, (born January 26, 1958, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.), American singer whose three-octave range and powerful, emotional delivery brought her international acclaim in the 1980s and ’90s. She was one of the most popular artists in urban contemporarymusic, a genre that her sophisticated, tradition-oriented soul and rhythm-and-bluessinging helped to define..." from the article: Anita Baker
There are several singers whom God has gifted with voices and other musical abilities that give us a transcendent experience like no other. They move us, often to tears. For me Anita Baker and her songs provide such an experience, taking me back to another time.. Andy
Sweet Love
Video from Anita Baker
"Provided to YouTube by Rhino Atlantic Sweet Love · Anita Baker Rapture ℗ 1986 Elektra Records Executive Producer: Anita Baker Lead Vocals: Anita Baker Backing Vocals: Anita Baker Engineer: Barney Perkins Mixing Engineer: Barney Perkins Mastering Engineer: Bernie Grundman Backing Vocals: Bunny Hull Backing Vocals: Darryl Phinnissee Assistant Engineer: Fred Law Bass Guitar: Freddy "Ready Freddie" Washington Guitar: Gregg Moore Backing Vocals: Jim Gilstrap Assistant Engineer: Keith Cohen Assistant Engineer: Keith Seppanen Mixing Engineer: Michael J. Powell Producer: Michael J. Powell Percussion: Paulinho da Costa Drums: Ricky Lawson Keyboards: Sir Gant Assistant Engineer: Tony Ray Writer: Anita Baker Writer: Gary Bias Writer: Louis A. Johnson Auto-generated by YouTube." from video introduction
The Farewell Tour 2018
Video from Concert Daily
"Whoa, two power house vocalists join forces on stage for a first time duet. Anita Baker invites Regina Belle for a live rendition of "You Bring Me Joy" live at Merriweather Post Pavilion for the Capital Jazz Fest in Columbia, MD. This is also the first time that Ms. Baker has performed this song on her Farewell Tour." from video introduction.