Lalah Hathaway is a rarity, a welcome and refreshing one at that. We listen to her sing, feel the nakedness of her songs, sense the verity of emotion, and for the first time in what feels like forever, we exhale. In 1990, Lalah was responsible for an acclaimed debut album, eponymous titled, compliments of Virgin Records. Words like 'smoky' and 'confident' were used to describe it. Then, in 1994, came the album A Moment, also on Virgin. Again, glowing reviews. Hathaway was said to be the possessor of 'torchy elegance' and to have made a 'solid' and 'independent step' in contemporary Rhythm and Blues. She contributed to many albums or performances with artists as David Sanborn, Al Jarreau, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, Grover J. Washington and Stevie Wonder. Most recently, she has come to the table with a group of songs that reveals an even greater maturity and a darkly original approach to production. Lalah Hathaway’s new work is sophisticated, emotive, sinewy. Perhaps it is her love of jazz that has imparted to her a bewitching spell common to the best of that genre.