Holly Cole

Holly Cole made the trek from Nova Scotia to Toronto in the early '80s, put together a trio with bassist David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis in 1986, and the rest — slowly but surely — became history. Acquaint yourself with the versatile singer (and her band) via their debut EP, Christmas Blues, before dipping into the first full-length album, Girl Talk. Holly Cole has tonsils that can turn iron into wine — as your ears will confirm in Next Steps.

A Holly Cole cover not only respects its source material, but also more often than not effects a stunning transformation. Who else could so convincingly take Doris Day into an after-midnight realm of whiskey-sodden reverie (check out "Que Sera, Sera")? And Petula Clark's "Downtown" loses its big, brassy sheen in favour of a subtler melancholy.

Holly Cole is a singer, rooted in jazz, who could just as easily describe herself as an alchemist, such is her ability to transform standards and well-chosen pop cuts into something worth more than their weight in gold. Born in Nova Scotia, she cut her teeth on Toronto's Queen Street gig circuit in the '80s, perfecting the incredibly pure, whiskey-warm, intimate vocal style that has become her trademark. To hear the way she transforms the Pretenders' "Two Thousand Miles" or Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" is to fall in love in an instant.