Music Review: Elise LeGrow - Playing Chess

She’s not entirely new to the scene, having released a pop music EP in 2013. But Canada’s Elise LeGrow is now getting an international buzz, thanks to her sizzling debut album, Playing Chess. Working with soul legend Betty Wright, the Roots’ Questlove and members of the Dap Kings, who once backed Amy Winehouse, the 30-year-old Toronto singer puts a fresh spin on classic r&b songs from Chicago’s iconic Chess record label. She turns Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” into a wistful ballad, gives Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” a haunting rock edge and transforms Fontella Bass’s “Rescue Me,” into slow, sultry jazz. Already the album, released on New York’s S-Curve Records, home of Joss Stone’s breakthrough Soul Sessions, is earning rave reviews and landing Elise on prestigious European stages and BBC’s Later…with Jools Holland. “It’s all happening pretty fast,” admits Elise, a big fan of vintage clothing and the singing-acting-modeling talents of Janelle Monae. “But, at this point, I’m definitely ready for it.”

Elise LeGrow singing "Going Back to Where I Belong"