Karrin Allyson has been described by the New York Times as a "singer with a feline touch and impeccable intonation" and by critics Scott Yanow and Greg Prato as "one of the more impressive jazz singers to emerge in the '90s." She has been received four Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album: Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane (2001); Footprints (2006); Imagina: Songs of Brasil (2008); and her latest album, 'Round Midnight (2011), which critic Matt Collar called "a smoky, afterglow affair that builds upon the singer's noted skill for interpreting jazz and pop standards." Allyson sings "I Wish I Knew" from her album, Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane, here:
René Marie has released nine albums, including the highly regarded Vertigo (2001) and two albums in 2011, The Voice of My Beautiful Country and Black Lace Freudian Slip. Critic Alex Henderson described her as "a recognizable, fairly unpredictable jazz vocalist who -- depending on her mood -- can be quirky and playful one minute, but bluesy, soulful, or sexy the next" and "blessed with an impressive range." She sings the title track from Black Lace Freudian Slip here:
Gretchen Parlato was the first vocalist ever admitted into the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance and, in 2004, the first place winner in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. Described by critic Matt Collar as "a forward-thinking jazz singer with an emotive, languid style and a bent toward mixing various musical influences into a modern creative jazz aesthetic," Parlato has three albums as lead singer, including 2011's "The Lost and Found," which was voted the Vocal Jazz Album of the Year on iTunes. Parlato's arrangement of Herbie Hancock's "Butterfly" can be heard here:
Tierney Sutton's band has received four Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album, most recently for the 2011 album, American Road. Critic Ken Dryden called her "a wide-ranging explorer as a vocalist, not satisfied with the standard jazz canon or typical approaches to songs" and said that she "has evolved into one of the most striking jazz singers of the early 21st century, simply because of her gift for finding new approaches to familiar songs without abandoning their essence." She performs the Gershwin classic, "It Ain't Necessarily So," here:
Four marvelous singers. I wish them all the best, both in the competition and in their careers.
Robert
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