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Denise Kirkland

Denise Kirkland Bio

The sound is new, but is caresses like a familiar memory. It is the straight ahead jazz instrument of DENISE KIRKLAND whose voice is burnished wood that has been polished smoothed by time, made as deep and smoky as a molten volcano. Hers is an earned gift that should only be entrusted to a woman fully grown who has experienced and understands life in all its prismatic permutations.

Her singing career spans over 25 years and you can hear it in her signature and sometimes surprising twists of phrasing. She envelops us in colours that paint our life stories as well as hers. She’s a sonic mirror that both warms and chills as she enchants and entreats us to fully get in touch with ourselves. Whether singing straight ahead jazz or putting unique spins on R&B, Pop and even Country covers, Kirkland takes no prisoners in her bid to make you truly feel.

Urban born, suburban reared and small town southern seasoned, Ms. Kirkland is a talent whose essence lingers with us like the wistfulness of a first love. You’ll always remember her and her songs. When she performed with saxophonist Skip Pearson, he said she reminded him of Sarah Vaughn.

Kirkland does indeed periodically take us back to an era when soulful jazz sounds floated from the mouths of the greats like Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Della Reese and or course the indomitable Billie Holiday. But please don’t get complacent in the notion that you will be hearing a carbon copy performance of these divas , Kirkland definitely possess a style all her own. After all, she’s been performing since she was 4 and has done so in South and North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

This entertainer is now calling the Metro Atlanta area her home. On New Year’s Eve 2007, she performed at the Georgia Freight Depot opening for Bobbye Johnson. She has wowed audiences here at The Red Shoe, Zanza, Hadleys, Feels Like Home, Star, Club Studio 7, Mabel’s in Macon and at an open mic at Churchill Ground’s Whisper Room. Kirkland appeared at Jus’ Loafin’ for 5 weeks with Otis Davis and Home Cookin’. She also made an appearance at the Paper Mill Grill in Marietta, GA

Kirkland and her band (from a guitar/vocalist duo to a full rhythm section plus horns) are available for concerts, restaurants, weddings, birthday parties, corporate events, independent living facilities, country club and night club engagements.

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