Singer Aaron Neville reinvents himself with new CD 'Nature Boy'

Aaron Neville's instantly recognizable vibrato voice has entertained music listeners for nearly four decades. This time the four-time Grammy award-winner crosses over into the genre of jazz with his first album of standard tunes.

The recently released CD Nature Boy is Neville's personal interpretation of classic songs from the Great American Songbook. The sweetly sung collection consists of mellow tunes such as George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime, Cole Porter's In the Still of the Night and the title track, Nature Boy by Eden Ahbez. "These were a few of the songs of my youth," Neville says. "In singing these standards--these romantic songs that get prettier with each passing year--I feel more than an earthy love. I feel the force of God, the spirit of all love."

Neville, one-fourth of the famed '70s group the Neville Brothers, broke into the music scene in 1966 with his solo hit Tell It Like It Is. Since then he has had a string of successful albums with his brothers and has recorded a dozen solo albums ranging in genre from gospel to country and now jazz.

The New Orleans native says that his father, who he calls Big Arthur, was the true inspiration for the 12-track CD of standards.

"Jazz," says Neville, "was as much a part of my musical education as blues and funk." He continues, "My dad, Big Arthur, was our first inspiration. Dad loved Nat Cole's brand of jazz. Nat was his favorite singer and Nature Boy his favorite song. I sing in tribute to him, a man who inspired his children."