by dynamite | Nov 28, 2023 | News
This new album from vocalist Sylvia Brooks was recorded live at Herb Albert’s Vibrato Jazz Grill, and finds her revisiting some material she released on her studio albums. Joining her on this release are Christian Jacob on piano, David Hughes on bass, Kevin Kanner on drums, David Witham on keyboards and accordion, Jeff Bunnell on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Brian Scanlon on tenor saxophone and flute. She opens the album with a delicious rendition of “When The Sun Comes Out,” written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. It’s a song she recorded for her debut album, 2009’s Dangerous Liaisons. There is something sexy about this rendition, in the horns and in her vocal approach, particularly the power behind it. And of course it features some really nice work on piano.
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by dynamite | Nov 8, 2023 | News
Whoever said that Los Angeles, California is not a hot bed for Jazz, and that the American west coast was the last place to host true-to-genre Jazz performers? While the idea of the American Jazz mecca seems to always default to New York City, we have to remember that so many other U.S. geographic regions produced and purported birthing—or at least being home to—some of the best jazz players in the history of the genre, and all of it’s bona fide sub-genres and styles.
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by dynamite | Nov 8, 2023 | News
On her fifth release, Sylvia Brooks Live With Christian Jacob, Sylvia Brooks kicks open the door and issues a robust reading of her recital book. Drawing from her four previous recordings: Dangerous Liaisons (CD Baby, 2009), Restless (CD Baby, 2012), The Arrangement (SBM Music, 2017), and Signature (Rhombus Records, 2022), Brooks reveals herself as a song stylist as opposed to a jazz singer, putting her more in the arena of Frank Sinatra than Betty Carter.
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by dynamite | Oct 7, 2023 | News
Pristine and powerful jazz vocals light up timeless sentiments throughout this musically sublime live album from Sylvia Brooks and Christian Jacob.
Celebrating an extensive career by revisiting some favourite songs from her performance repertoire, Sylvia Brooks delivers ten freshly captured recordings of big-band soulful jazz tracks, elevated by faultless musical unity across a live set of piano, bass, wind and rhythm.
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by dynamite | Sep 14, 2023 | News
This live jazz album from Sylvia Brooks was made with help from pianist Christian Jacob, who is also her musical director. It’s an album of mostly familiar vocal standards and features Brooks strong singing voice.
While Brooks shines on these many times well known songs, her live group also covers Jacobs’ composition “The Red Pig Flew Up The hill.” She also provided the lyrics to “The Flea Markets of Paris.” This latter one, and “Holding Back Tears,” are taken from Signature, Brooks’ 2022 album that focused on her original music. Yes, she knows her way around many American standard songs, but she also has added her personal songwriting signature to this long tradition.
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by dynamite | Mar 13, 2023 | News
We continue our sweet day of discoveries with the most magical musical moment unveiled by Sylvia Brooks and her album “Signature”, an opus to discover as soon as possible. It will accompany our whole week, in the sweetest and most beautiful ways.
In 9 astonishing tracks, this incredible singer takes us on a journey through jazz and above all solar melodies, worthy of the greatest. With its soulful tone, sometimes subtly bluesy, her musical ‘signature’ is delicious, irresistible and will warm your heart up.
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