I went to Shipley.  My class had some amazingly talented people.  One of those is my friend Rhonda Dorsey who now lives in Switzerland.

Rhonda is a fabulous songstress and her voice is as beautiful as she is.  She is a contemporary R & B singer, and she released a CD a few months ago and I am ashamed to admit it took me until now to hear it all the way through.

As I sat here today editing photos for a new photo book, I popped Rhonda’s “Chocolate Sound” in and listened.

Wow.  The melodiously beautiful voice I remember as a teen is all grown up and full of promise.

With a velvety R & B meets modern jazzy sound with the occasional dose of funk, Rhonda starts off her CD with “Sums of One”  and rolls through “It’s All  Good Day”, sliding into songs like “Giving” (which is probably my favorite), or the sultry “I’ll Be” which is just simply lovely.  A funky beat draws you into “Let it Be Me”, a cautionary tale comprises the lyrics of “Mr. Le Le” , smooth and sexy is “Sense Me”, finishing up with the beautiful “Far from You”.

Rhonda’s voice is rich and playful, and literally as smooth as chocolate.

For those who don’t know me, you wouldn’t know that R&B is not something I listen to every day, and it’s not.  But Rhonda takes it places with her own spin, where I could.

Rhonda has a website and a Facebook page and a sampling of her style on you tube. Check her out and you can buy her sound on iTunes and Amazon as well as her website.

Brava Rhonda, Brava