Los Angeles jazz vocalist Dheepa Chari makes timeless debut with new EP
(Published: January 09, 2011)

(Los Angeles, CA) - Written by Robert Sutton. If Dheepa Chari's silk-woven voice sounds timeless, it may be because she is classically trained. On her debut EP, On 4th Street, Chari croons with a self-confident strut that seems beyond her youthful appearance.

Heavily influenced by Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, Chari's singing could have emerged in a different era, one in which angelic vocals were considered the heart of jazz. There are no artificial sweeteners in Chari's voice, no lazy notes, no bogus emotions; she sings with the incandescent flow of a waterfall.

On "Peel Me a Grape," Chari's vocals are both flirty and soulful, achieving that delicate balance of innocence and seduction. To accomplish that is no result of technical skill, at least by itself. Chari is comfortable with her voice; through practice and experience, she knows its highs and lows. "I started singing around the age of five," Chari said. "My grandmother was a professional singer and my parents were also musicians, so I started singing in a classical choir at school and also studied eastern classical music with a private voice teacher. I minored in vocal performance in undergrad and started focusing more on jazz after graduate school in New York. During that time, I worked with a jazz vocal coach for several years to better refine my singing technique."

The unrequited love of "Angel Eyes" is delivered with equal parts sultriness and melancholy by Chari; it is among the EP's highlights, a blue Valentine wherein her voice smokes as much as it melts. Chari selected "Angel Eyes," as well as the other jazz standards on the CD, because "they all had distinct meanings from one another and contained lyrics that I connected with in some way."

On 4th Street is simply the beginning for Chari. "I am planning on putting together a full-length album over the next several months which will include both standards and originals. I'm hoping to complete it late 2011 or early 2012," she revealed.

More Information: http://dheepachari.com

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