“New York Voices lives up to its reputation as the most exciting vocal ensemble in current jazz.” — The Boston Herald
Back by popular demand! New York Voices is the GRAMMY® awardwinning vocal ensemble renowned for its excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great groups that have come before, such as Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer, and Take 6, group members have learned from the best and taken the art form to new levels. Their interests are rooted in jazz, but often Brazilian, R & B, classical, and pop influences are included with equal creativity and authenticity.
“...a lady with a trumpet... (who) can easily keep up with the big boys.” — The BBC
Ingrid Jensen’s trumpet playing is as fresh and alive as her aptly named debut album Vernal Fields. Although her playing has the influences of such jazz greats as Miles Davis, Woody Shaw, and Art Farmer, Jensen is creating her own style and conception whether she is playing soft ballads or rapid-fire bop lines. With trumpet in hand, Jensen speaks volumes and the world has taken notice. Vernal Fields won Canada’s Juno Award as “Best Mainstream Album of 1995.” The same year, Jensen received the “Best Newcomer Award” at the Cork (Ireland) Jazz Festival and weeks later won the second annual Carmine Caruso International Jazz Solo Trumpet Competition held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has performed throughout Europe, Japan, Chile, and North America playing with her own quartet and big bands, such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra and DIVA.
“Musically sophisticated and artistically daring.” — The Chicago Tribune
Crossing over for a singer whose foundation resounds jazz was a relatively rare phenomenon back in 1994 when Jackie Allen recorded her debut album, Never Let Me Go. However, that didn’t dissuade her from finding common ground between the jazz and pop music worlds.
Jackie’s extraordinary talent has taken her across the globe. She has toured Morocco as part of a cultural goodwill tour, Brazil with her voice/ bass duo, and China where she was the only jazz artist to headline at the Beijing International Music Festival. She performs frequently in Europe having appeared twice at the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Mittenwald and Reutlingen Festivals in Germany, and the Edinburgh Fringe and Scottish Double Bass Festivals.
Nationally she has toured throughout the Midwest and the West Coast, appearing numerous times in Los Angeles. She has performed at the International Association of Jazz Educators Conference in New Orleans, with the Muncie Symphony Orchestra in an Evening of Cole Porter, and at the Ravinia Festival, Detroit, and Chicago Jazz Festivals.
“Universally admired as one of the most adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years.” — The Los Angeles Times
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s. Mehldau’s most consistent output over the years has taken place in the trio format. Starting in 1996, his group released a series of five records on the Warner Bros. label entitled The Art of the Trio. Mehldau also has a solo piano recording entitled Elegiac Cycle, and a record called Places that includes both solo piano and trio songs. Elegiac Cycle and Places might be called “concept” albums. They are made up exclusively of original material and have central themes that hover over the compositions. Other Mehldau recordings include Largo, a collaborative effort with the innovative musician and producer Jon Brion, and Anything Goes — a trio outing with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy.
Mehldau’s performances convey a wide range of expression. There is often an intellectual rigor to the continuous process of abstraction that may take place on a given tune, and a certain density of information. That could be followed by a stripped down, emotionally direct ballad. Mehldau favors juxtaposing extremes. He has attracted a sizeable following over the years, one that has grown to expect a singular, intense experience in his performance