Rich in content and sound, Ani evolves further

Since her self-titled debut discovered its audience in the early 1990s, Ani DiFranco has been constantly redefining herself both individually and artistically. An image of non-conformity, this Buffalo, N.Y., native started her career by creating her own record label, Righteous Babe Records, as she refused to deal with the uptight and often restricting demands of major record labels that would most likely squelch any real creativity in search of profit. \nNineteen albums later, Evolve brings Ani's career to a pinnacle. It will be her last album with her touring band of the past six years. While the band's flavor certainly spiced up her music, adding percussion, clarinet, flute, flugelhorn, melodica and bass, her heart and soul, combined with her unique vocal style, provide all the real orchestration Ani needs. In separating from her band, she is in many ways going back to her musical roots and her next album will be her first solo acoustic album in years.\nEvolve is more jazz-infused than previous efforts, often coming out with a distinctly Latin flare. Her refusal to conform to the boundaries of one single musical genre keeps Ani interesting from album to album, track to track. Only three years ago Ani experimented with brass in her music, adding sax and trumpet. Now in "Oh My My," Ani yet again breaks new ground, having written this piece on the piano, an instrument on which she has had no training. \nOne thing that has remained the same throughout her career has been her vocal style. Ani challenges her own timbre constantly. Her voice shifts effortlessly, almost unintentionally, adding considerable thickness to her already full voice.\nSo Much Shouting, So Much Laughter, Ani's last album, released in September 2002, featured three new songs, two of which are included on Evolve in their studio-enhanced form. The horn and piano-laced "Shrug" sounds light and jazzy one minute and dark and somewhat sinister the next. The passion she has for the words are especially evident here.\nAni is truly a spectacle live. It is my belief that one cannot fully appreciate her music or her message without seeing her live at least once. Her on-stage aura is magical. A single smile and a throaty cackle has the audience professing its love in the form of notes, flowers and other hand-made gifts that make their way up to the stage. The deep, personal connection Ani has with her audience makes her music all the more meaningful. The way in which she casually converses with the crowd between songs involves the audience on a non-superficial level. She genuinely cares about her fans. This may be partially due to the fact that her music has for the most part failed to hit the mainstream, so she solely relies on her fans who are all she needs.\nThe one performance I was fortunate enough to see, I was told was not her best. Confined to a chair with crutches at her side, and a broken foot, Ani still dazzled with her impassioned intensity. Ani certainly felt constrained by her disability, but in no way did she let that affect her sound or her love for the music she was making.\nAni can be classified as many things -- poet, political activist, feminist, bisexual -- but the one label that demands the brunt of our attention is that of musician. Evolve is a true testament to Ani's ability to recreate her own genre with each new track. It is simply the end of another cycle in Ani's evolution and one that will continue.