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Whitney James

Vocalist Whitney James takes her rightful place among today’s great jazz singers with her stunning debut album, The Nature of Love. James blends a singer’s sensitivity to lyrics with an instrumentalist’s command of phrasing, melody, and timbre. The album’s ambitious program of material includes classics from the Great American Songbook such as Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin’s “Long Ago and Far Away” and Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean,” as well as challenging jazz tunes such as Benny Golson’s “Whisper Not” and Jimmy Rowles’s “The Peacocks.”

James doesn’t just sing a tune,she creatively engages it. Every time she approaches a melody and a lyric, she finds a new way to phrase them, shape them, highlight a word or a few notes that shade the meaning and make the music richer. Her sense of time and pacing make her a consummate musician’s singer—she knows how to work with a band, instead of asking it to merely back her. Her supple alto voice wraps itself around a song like a sheer silk scarf. She sings with a bright clarity of tone, yet she colors her sound with earthy inflections, subtle squeezed notes, dark growls, and notes of soaring purity.

Her polished musicianship helps her interpret the best of American popular music as well as challenging originals of jazz composers rarely attempted by singers. The upper edge of her voice gently caresses “Tenderly,” highlighting the song’s romantic glow, then she matches trumpeter Jensen tone for tone with an instrumentalist’s full sound. She subjects “Long Ago and Far Away” to playful transformations, making the song her own without ever obscuring the composers’ original intent. She negotiates the transitions between Latin and swing beats on “How Deep Is the Ocean” with elegance, phrasing behind the beat at times to create an exquisite tension. And she remains unfazed by the tricky melody of “The Peacocks,” making the composition’s daunting contours sound graceful and natural.

It’s rare that a performer emerges fully formed on their first album. But Whitney James has the musicianship and deep emotional power of a mature artist. Whitney continues to tour and play in the US. She is currently working on her new CD project.

In 2012 Whitney was featured on Marian McPartland’s new show on NPR’s Piano Jazz Rising Stars, a nationally syndicated radio show on National Public Radio as one of the top 12 rising stars jazz artists worldwide. Here is a link to that feature about Whitney James on Piano Jazz Rising Stars: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/16/145639275/whitney-james-on-piano-jazz-rising-stars .

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290
Album Review

Whitney James: The Nature of Love

Read "The Nature of Love" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


It is more than likely that Whitney James was born to sing, proving once again the Latin adage (relating, albeit to poetry), that poeta nascitur non fit. And it was probably only a matter of time before she was discovered. Happily there was not that long a wait, for here, on The Nature of Love, is the proverbial “perfect debut" from a courageous young lady. Not only does James pick and successfully tackle a challenging repertoire, but she handles that ...

387
Album Review

Whitney James: The Nature Of Love

Read "The Nature Of Love" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


The Nature Of Love is singer Whitney James' debut, although the maturity and sophistication of her performance makes this hard to believe. Across an intriguing set of songs James demonstrates an impressive vocal range and a command of phrasing and intonation that usually come only with years of experience. James' voice is expressive and sensual, and apart from its range it also has real strength and power. At times, when James is singing in her upper register, ...

351
Album Review

Whitney James: The Nature of Love

Read "The Nature of Love" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard


Taking the step into professional jazz singing can be a test, but the challenge is gracefully overcome in this debut, The Nature of Love, by the young female singer Whitney James. In fact, it is hard to believe that this is James' first recording. The sculpted lines of her sensual, smoky voice could be mistaken for those of a seasoned diva who knows exactly when to break into the higher register and how to create intimacy through a whisper.

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Performance / Tour

The Palladium Theatre Presents Live From New York: Jazz Vocalists Michelle Walker, Whitney James And Emily Braden

The Palladium Theatre Presents Live From New York: Jazz Vocalists Michelle Walker, Whitney James And Emily Braden

Source: Paula Lavitz - PR, Management & Booking

The Palladium Theatre Saturday, March 14th at 8pm The Palladium at St. Petersburg College 253 5th Ave N Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 Three adventurous new voices in jazz come together for one night in the spirit of collaboration of standards, re-imagined pop tunes and original music. Vocalists Whitney James, Emily Braden and Michelle Walker met in jny: New York City where they became fast friends. They were drawn together by a mutual respect for ...

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Vocals

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Nature of Love

Damselfly Productions/Stir Stick Music
2010

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