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Connie Evingson

Minnesota born-and-raised, Connie Evingson has a catalog of acclaimed albums that run a wide spectrum of genres. From jazz to Broadway standards, to covering Peggy Lee or The Beatles, the Twin Cities-based singer has an adventurous spirit that, like her music, knows no boundaries. Her ten albums released through Minnehaha Music have all charted in the Top 50 in the United States and Canada, and can be heard on radio stations around the globe.

Evingson has toured worldwide, with appearances at concert halls, theaters and festivals in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Memorable performances include being a guest artist at Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, and Vince Giordano; multiple performances on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion; collaborations with the Minnesota Orchestra and Toronto Symphony conducted by Doc Severinsen; performances with the JazzMN Orchestra and Vocalessence, and a standing invitation at the renowned Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. Evingson is a two-time recipient of both the McKnight Fellowship for Performing Musicians as well as the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist’s Initiative Grant.

She has been featured in the Smithsonian Jazz Singers radio series, on NPR’s Fresh Air and Weekend Edition, and appears on numerous compilation discs. Her latest album, “All the Cats Join In,” featuring John Jorgenson and his Quintet playing in the “jazz manouche” style popularized by Django Reinhardt, was released in 2014 to critical acclaim. No matter the genre, from bebop to Bossa nova, from big-band swing to ballads, her voice is pitch-perfect; a bit smoky in texture, with articulation as clear as midnight on a starry Minnesota winter night.

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Radio & Podcasts

Will Power Versus Won't Power

Read "Will Power Versus Won't Power" reviewed by H William Stine


What does it take to lose weight? Willpower. Stop biting your nails? Willpower. What does it take to stop watching America's Got Talent? Half a brain—but that's a different issue. Getting back on topic: what does it take to give up smoking? Again, Willpower. So let me get this straight: Willpower is forcing yourself not to do something. Wouldn't it make more sense to call it Won't-power? But no—everyone gives Willpower all the praise and approbation. Well, not this week! ...

2
Album Review

Connie Evingson & the John Jorgenson Quintet: All the Cats Join In

Read "All the Cats Join In" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Minneapolis-native Connie Evingson is one of the most durable and reliable jazz singers performing. She has had a spate of fine recordings in the last decade, including: Let it Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles (Minnehaha, 2003), Gypsy in My Soul (Minnehaha, 2005), Stockholm Sweetnin'(Minnehaha, 2006), Little Did I Dream: Songs By Dave Frishberg (Minnehaha, 2008), and Sweet Happy Life (Minnehaha, 2012). Presently, Evingson continues her trend of exceptional recordings with All the Cats Join In. ...

3
Album Review

Connie Evingson: All The Cats Join In

Read "All The Cats Join In" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Were it not for her decision to remain in Minnesota, Connie Evingson would surely be a better-known jazz vocalist. Over the course of her previous releases she's proven herself to be a prepossessing singer capable of getting to the marrow of a lyric without pretense or posturing. And she's remarkably good at putting together programs, be it a salute to The Beatles, a trip through the work of Norman Gimbel, a tribute to Peggy Lee, or a collection of well-organized ...

2
Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


There are surprises galore and much to be enjoyed in Sweet Happy Life, from fine Minneapolis-based vocalist, Connie Evingson. Perhaps the most immediate of those discoveries, even before a listen, is the canon of work from Grammy and Academy Award-winning lyricist, Norman Gimbel, to whose oeuvre this CD is a tribute.With Sweet Happy Life Evingson and her mates superbly cover some of the most well-known selections in popular music. The fascinating thing is that Gimbel, while not as ...

4
Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Norman Gimbel's name may not register with a lot of educated jazz fans, yet he's linked to some of the most important songs and artists in the music. Gimbel wrote the lyrics attached to harmonica ace Toots Thielemans' best known number, “Bluesette," captured Michel Legrand's musical moods in words on “I Will Wait For You" and “Watch What Happens," and opened up English-language ears to the world of bossa nova. His lyrics for many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's songs are ...

5
Album Review

Connie Evingson & The Hot Club of Sweden: Stockholm Sweetnin’

Read "Stockholm Sweetnin’" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


After the release of the top-drawer Sweet Happy Life (Minnehhaha Music, 2012), it was worth pursuing the All About Jazz review archives to see if there were any recent Connie Evingson releases we neglected to consider. Imagine our luck that a significant recording has been overlooked, one that appeals directly to Evingson's Scandinavian heritage: 2006's Stockholm Sweetnin'. Recorded with The Hot Club of Sweden, Evingson settles into an uncommon comfort level that allows her to relax and ...

2
Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey


Singer Connie Evingson is a master of thematic programming. Her last several recordings have all been predicated on specific themes that showed great consideration in their concepts. Recordings released since the new millennium include: Little Did I Dream: Songs by Dave Frishberg (Minnehaha Music, 2008); Stockholm Sweetnin' (Minnehaha Music, 2006); Gypsy in my Soul (Minnehaha Music, 2005); The Secret of Christmas (Minnehaha Music, 2003); and Let It Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles (Summit Records, 2003). All are uniformly ...

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Recording

Vocalist Connie Evingson's "Sweet Happy Life," A Tribute To Songwriter Norman Gimbel

Vocalist Connie Evingson's "Sweet Happy Life," A Tribute To Songwriter Norman Gimbel

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations

For her ninth album, SWEET HAPPY LIFE (Minnehaha Music, July 10, 2012 Release), vocalist Connie Evingson (pronounced EE-ving-sen) samples the songbook of Grammy and Oscar winning lyricist Norman Gimbel. “With a healthy dose of bossa nova and samba from Gimbel’s frequent collaborations with Brazilian composers Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Marcos Valle and others (“Girl from Ipanema”, “Meditation”, “Sweet Happy Life” aka “Samba de Orfeu”, etc.). The record also includes swinging jazz standards (“Bluesette”, Canadian Sunset”), a moody jazz version ...

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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

All The Cats Join In

Minnehaha Music
2015

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Sweet Happy Life

Minnehaha Music
2012

buy

Stockholm Sweetnin’

Minnehaha Music
2012

buy

Little Did I Dream:...

Minnehaha Music
2008

buy

Gypsy in My Soul

Minnehaha Music
2005

buy

Let It Be Jazz:...

Summit Records
2003

buy

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