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Reviewed By: Constance Tucker
Davis has forged her craft as jazz vocalist, the old fashioned way through
her exploration as a performer, composer, producer and educator. Through
years of hard work and study, Davis has culminated her sophomore release,
It Amazes Me. Davis is clearly at the top of her game. Together with
acclaimed jazz artists, Chuck Easton and George Radebaugh, she has found
the balance of songs and styles that showcase their collective talents,
blending beautiful arrangements and post-bop compositions, while adding
new freshness highly recognizable jazz standards, this release adds
up to a stellar vocal presentation that truly exhibits Davis as a competent
and skilled technician.
It Amazes Me is an adventurous recording, Jenny's vocals fuse with inspired
solos by Easton, Radegaugh and Willy Ingersoll, creating and complex
improvisations that highlight her voice as a technically superior instrument.
Davis invites the listener to explore the music much in the way of an
instrumentalist. To delve inside the vibrant bebop standards that is
usually performed instrumentally such as Clifford Brown's "Joy
Spring" and Charlie Parker's "Scrapple from the Apple".
From the poignantly tender title track "It Amazes Me" to Duke
Ellington's hard swinging "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got
that swing)" Davis takes the listener on an exploration of vocal
heights and emotional depth that few vocalists have the heart, or talent,
to traverse. Davis is a true jazz vocalist who displays chops with pleasing
vocal quality. Jenny learned her chops under the tutelage of renowned
jazz vocalist, Beth Winter, and other greats such as Jay Clayton, Sheila
Jordan, Hadley Caliman, Randy Halberstadt, Chuck Deardorf, Jim Knapp
and Julian Priester. Davis graduated cum laude from Cornish College
of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, where she was awarded
the coveted Maggie Hawthorne scholarship.
Davis is a welcome addition to the history of jazz vocalist with a true
offering to bring to the table.
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Track Listing:
1. It Don't Mean A Thing (if it ain't got that swing)
2. What'll I Do/Tennessee Waltz
3. Born to Be Blue
4. Joy Spring
5. Dindi
6. It Amazes Me
7. Dat Dere
8. Make Someone Happy
9. Beautiful Love
10. Scrapple From the Apple/Honey Suckle Rose
11. You Don't Know What Love Is
12. Answer the Call
13. Just Squeeze
 
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