Gaga Goes... Jazz?

Call her nutty, call her a performance artist, call her a meat-wearer (well, uh, that's true), but you can't deny that Lady Gaga sure knows how to reinvent herself and provoke a reaction. But this next change isn't just a fashion change, it's a musical change, as The Associated Press reports that Lady Gaga is prepping a jazz CD with Tony Bennett, called Cheek to Cheek. Think that's a change for the "Applause" singer? Well, you're right, it is — jazz doesn't have the thumping bass that Gaga's recent hits have had — but she said this change of style wasn't difficult for her. In fact, she has said that singing jazz is easier than singing pop music. Gaga said:

You know, it's funny, but jazz comes a little more comfortable for me than pop music, than R&B music [...] I've sung jazz since I was 13 years old, which is kind of like my little secret that Tony found out. So this is almost easier for me than anything else.

Fans who only know of Gaga since she's risen to ubiquity in the past five years or so may be surprised by Gaga's vocal skills, but even fair weather friends know that she's been showing off those pipes on her tracks, even if her outlandish ensembles sometimes detract from her music. However, die hard fans know that she has been demonstrating vocal prowess for a long time.

Want some proof of that? Here's a video of Gaga before she was Gaga — when she was just Stefani Germanotta — performing at an NYU talent show.

Here's a video of her, once again sans outlandish ensemble, performing at The Bitter End in NYC back in 2006.

And at The Cutting Room, just Stefani and a piano...

Bottom line? She's got the pipes to pull of any kind of music, and she doesn't need a dance beat or all of pop music's accoutrements to sing a song.

The album, which will be released this fall, has been Gaga's project for the past two years, so you know there's a whole lot of heart in it.

But now we must ask — what will she wear when she promotes it? Here's hoping for her recent old Hollywood look, and not a meat dress, but if she feels like doin' a throwback to the meat dress — you do you, Gaga. We'll be listening.