Will the third nomination in the first Polaris Prize shortlist be the right one for Torontonian Tanika Charles? Three years later The Gumption, the Canadian queen of retro soul-R&B reunites with her collaborators for a new singing tour rooted in the tradition of popular Afro-American music. The influence of the classic Motown sound serves as a backdrop to Charles’ work (on the impeccable Million Waysamong others), which will invoke modernity only to forage from one genre to another, soul-blues on the tender ballad Don’t Be so Entitledsoul of the 1980s with the flowing title track, more disco on Frustrated and again on Different Morning, in duet with rapper DijahSB. In terms of execution, Tanika Charles excels: the warm timbre, the ample and generous tremolo, the performer is right in her comfort zone, less interested in the contemporary explorations of neo-soul stars than in the richness of foundations of these musical universes. In concert on June 30 at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
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