"I close my eyes and dream about a sunny holiday ... "

October 31, 2012 12:03 AM

Caro Emerald is a Dutch jazz singer. Her debut album "Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor" went sextuple-platinum in The Netherlands, and has the longest run at #1 on the Dutch charts. BBC Music reviews.

Music Videos:
Stuck

"One continental debutante who'd rather be in Saint-Tropez than hoping for the arrival of Santa Claus, dishes the dirt in her conversation du jour with that fast-talking playboy. And his endless promises that never seem to arrive on time. Don't worry about your dinner, big boy... here come your just desserts."

A Night Like This

"One night in a casino where dreams come true, leads to an oceanside cliff party of the rich and richer."

Back It Up (acoustic) - on SoulKitchen

Reviews from UK shows in: the London Evening Standard, The Independent

Her Twitter

posted by the man of twists and turns (16 comments total)

Yes! Thank you for sharing this! I first learned her name a year ago, in Belgium. I heard A Night Like This in a restaurant and couldn't figure out if it was an old standard that was familiar to me or something new and AMAZING. It was, indeed, the latter and I've been hooked since and meaning to do a FPP.

That Man is also definitely worth a listen.
posted by knile at 12:38 AM on October 31, 2012 [2 favorites]

Caro Emerald covers 'Bad Romance' live
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:17 AM on October 31, 2012 [1 favorite]

Darn, I had finally gotten her out of my mind and you bring her back...
What a voice, what a beautiful hunk of a woman. ...My crush has returned.
...sigh
posted by quazichimp at 2:27 AM on October 31, 2012

She's great--"Stuck" was the first song I heard in the first lunch cafe in Amsterdam I visited. Great voice, fun songs!
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:16 AM on October 31, 2012

OK, OK, she's wonderful, I've been listening to her for about two years since a dutch friend absolutely insisted. But am I the only one who finds the lyrics of her songs a bit lacking sometimes? I would love to hear her do some of the old jazz standards.
posted by ubiquity at 6:02 AM on October 31, 2012

more covers:
Mad About the Boy
Mama Do
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:17 AM on October 31, 2012

Great stuff!

Out of curiosity, is there a term for the subset of jazz like "A Night Like This" and "Back It Up"? Specifically with chord progressions that stick mostly to minor I, dominant seven V, and diminished VI, and sort of gypsy jazz rhythm and instrumentation?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:51 AM on October 31, 2012

Thank you!
posted by zscore at 7:59 AM on October 31, 2012

Wow, am about 30 seconds into "That Man" on Spotify and I'm already hooked. Thanks for this!
posted by photovox at 8:28 AM on October 31, 2012

I have tickets to her show in New York on the 15th! Any other Mefites going?
posted by fings at 8:44 AM on October 31, 2012

Just introduced a good friend to Caro's music last night. She's wonderful.
posted by onhazier at 9:53 AM on October 31, 2012

Like knile, I first heard her on a muzak station in a hotel lobby and had to track down who she was. The vintage look of the videos for Back It Up and That Man are great too, and work perfectly with the songs.
posted by CyberSlug Labs at 10:34 AM on October 31, 2012

Thanks for reminding me to put this back in rotation - I listened to it a bunch about a year ago, then forgot about this cd, but it's really pretty good.
My favorite is definitely Dr. Wanna Do, mainly for the beginning.
posted by Karmeliet at 3:08 PM on October 31, 2012

Holy guacamole, that acoustic version of Back It Up is great. It's nice to hear her do something that's not so rhythmically locked-in. The album is really fun, but the use of a drum machine and dance beat keeps her stuff from swinging like real jazz - they stay right on top of the beat the whole time. Overall, I think the album sounds like a much more successful take on Christina Aguilara's album Back To Basics.
posted by smartyboots at 3:32 PM on October 31, 2012

Thanks for this post... good music, fantastic artist... yet another good thing found via the MeFi!
posted by HuronBob at 8:16 PM on October 31, 2012

Caro Emerald and Waylon [The King of Dutch Soul] sing This Is A Man's World
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:39 PM on November 4, 2012