Hollie Smith

Although pop music prodigies are not common, and often one can already hear the death knells ringing under the sounds of a 16-year-old artist's debut record, sometimes musical genius arrives in young packages. New Zealander Hollie Smith is arguably one of those artistic lightning strikes. She made her recording debut in 1999, at 16 years old, with the Celtic music record Light from a Distant Shore. Having won Best Female Vocalist at New Zealand's National Jazz Festival the year before, Smith had already caught the attention of her countrymen, and the existing buzz made the independent release a modest yet significant success. Some years later Smith took up with New Zealand's premier R&B, reggae, and neo-soul group TrinityRoots. After recording the album Home, Land and Sea together, Smith got her first taste of the road as the band performed throughout the region in support of the 2004 release. The following year Smith was able to record her own compositions for the first time, alongside unique arrangements of cover material. EP not only scored her a national Top Ten hit with her rendition of Don McGlashan's "Bathe in the River," but earned her the clout and credibility to negotiate a deal with EMI for the release of her major-label debut. Long Player featured songs from her own pen (written over the course of four years), some of NZ's finest musicians, and a soul/jazz sound so steamy and sensuous that Smith's name dominated national media for weeks following the album's May 2007 release date. When the record fell into Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall's hands, he and subsidiary label Manhattan Records could barely sign the young vocalist fast enough. Smith's multi-album deal with the legendary label offers hope that the artist's youthful promise will not...