She seems in a perpetual haze, Macy Gray, with her laconic, spacey demeanor and voice that's equal parts slur and gravel. It's as if she emerged from some exotic nether land with an alchemy of jazz and soul that sounds at once familiar and strange. Gray, born Natalie Renee McIntyre, is actually from Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. She was a late bloomer whose breakthrough album, 1999's On How Life Is (featuring the hit "I Try") didn't come until she was 32. Her timing was perfectly in synch with the rise of neo-soul, but Gray has never quite achieved superstardom. Even so, she's forged a solid and versatile career that also includes acting in Idlewild, Lackawanna Blues and Training Day. She'll be joined on this show by The Brand New Heavies, a long-standing British group whose latest album, Get Used to It, is an all-but-moribund collection of formulaic dance-pop. Thurs., Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m., Carol Morsani Hall-Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, $37.50-$67.50, 813-229-7827, tbpac.org.
This article appears in Aug 15-21, 2007.