Bobby McFerrin

As gimmicks go, Bobby McFerrin's one-man-band approach to jazz singing is pretty
impressive. Slapping his chest to sketch out a beat, he'll alternate between deep, resonant
growls and a skittering nasal falsetto to suggest an entire jazz combo simultaneously. He
pushes the boundaries of vocalise beyond Leon Thomas's yodel and Jon Hendricks's
virtuosity and into a whole new realm. Yet even as McFerrin's improvisatory flair... More >

No matter how much aid and comfort it gives the enemy, there's no point denying "Don't Worry, Be Happy" unless you're tin-eared enough to think it doesn't capture a feeling or deluded enough to think poor people never share it. Title tune's the real Republican lie--McFerrin's celebration of 6 a.m. wakeup neglects to mention that his morning is unencumbered by a j-o-b--and even that's probably a tragic consequence of some fundamental mindlessness. Passing as an Artist on skill and fluidity alone, he's a vocal Keith Jarrett come down with the cutes--or maybe a musical Marcel Marceau. (Grade: B-)