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Tory Cassis: Anywhere but Here
Tory Cassis has a voice that many only dream of.
While his debut album, "Anywhere But Here," is definitely a pop album, he has a jazz vocal style that avoids the trap of trite phrasing. He has the mellow smoothness of Chet Baker, but (unlike some Juno winners who shall remain nameless) does not sound like he's in a Baker-esque heroin coma.
Intelligent vocals (now that's a rare thing) combined with hooky-yet-complex melodies combine in a very listenable mix. "Soulful pop" is the tagline, and it serves the purpose quite well: his main influences are Ray Charles and Tom Waits, if that gives you any idea. His songs stay with you. Long before this CD came out, he already had a devoted local following, who could recite the words to every song.
It's no surprise that this cd got Tory nominated for "Best New Artist" at the 2000 Junos. We had a long wait for this debut; hopefully he will give us more before too too long.
tory can often be seen around toronto: at the reservoir on saturdays, and sitting in with the swing gang at barcode on wednesdays. for more information, check out his website.
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