Dennis llewellyn Day

Dennis Day Music Biography

Dennis Day is a versatile vocalist whose albums, For Only You and All Things in Time, along with his singles Sunday Morning Sunshine and Wastin’ My Time, are widely available on download and streaming services.

His original song Sunday Morning Sunshine is recorded in both instrumental and vocal versions and features acclaimed saxophonists Art Porter, Jr. and TK Blue. His second album All Things in Time features his original song African Musing and includes songs from the Great American Song Book with performances by Wycliff Gordon, Stephon Harris, Danny Mixon, John di Martino, and John Miller. The album peaked at #39 nationwide in College Music Journal’s annual Jazz charts and was presented the Grindie Award for Best in Jazz genre 2009 by RadioIndy, the Internet Radio music aggregator. Reviewers have said:

Day is impressive in his ability to go from deep brooding ballads to joyful flamboyant up-tempo numbers pulling off each tune as effectively as the next. (Cathy Gruefelder, Jazz Improv)

What stands out most about the Harlem Based singer is his versatility. Day’s peasant baritone, with dollops of second tenor silkiness is as warm and inviting on ballads as it is on up-tempo tunes. (Herb Boyd, Amsterdam News)

Dennis Day is a magna cum laude graduate of the Billy Eckstein/Nat King Cole school of buttery baritones. In Day’s case, though, there’s a healthy dollop of cayenne, plus a spoonful of grit, blended into the butter. (VOX Jazz Improv Magazine)

His third album, Bossa, Blues, & Ballads, will be released in 2018 and features jazz legends Harold Mabern, Billy Kaye, and Marvin Horne along with vibrant young stalwarts Camille Thurman, Anthony Wonsey, and Nanny Assis.

Day’s early forays into professional recording included working as a demo singer for Columbia Screen Gems and Mercury Records on Nashville’s Music Row. One of his earliest recordings on the Poncello label, the song My Loss Your Gain, is included the award-winning CD compilation Music City Soul: From Nashville’s Black Cats and remains a best seller in the UK and Europe in the Northern Soul Genre.

Day has appeared in concert, club and festival settings, including the Harlem Jazz Festival Apollo Sound Stage, Saint Peter’s Jazz Church Concert & Vesper Series, Manhattan Mid-day Jazz Concerts, Minton’s Playhouse, the Blue Note, West End Café, the Village Vanguard as special guest of Dorothy Donegan, the Lennox Lounge, Saint Nicholas Pub, Visiones, Bohemian Caverns, Blues Alley, the Brooklyn International African Arts Festival, the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Jazz Society (PJS), NAACP Telethon, as well as in Nashville, Washington, DC, Havana, Cancun, and Moscow.

Dennis has performed with some of the finest including the Blackbyrds, and was among the singers with Tony Bennett to salute the late Billy Eckstein at New York City’s Blue Note. He has graced the stage with Oscar Brown Jr., Clark Terry, Frank Foster, Dorothy Donegan, Lionel Hampton, Mercer Ellington, Herman Foster, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Keter Betts, Major Holly, Richard Wyands, Jessie Davis, Doc Cheatham, Eddie Chamblee, Dennis Irwin, Valery Ponomerov, Melvin Sparks, Walter Perkins Jr., Harold Ousley, Bross Townsend, Wycliff Gordon, Stefan Harris, Eric Lewis, Scott Hamilton, Ernie Hayes, Bob Cunningham, and Patience Higgins, among others.

While Day’s varied career continues to evolve, his shows and the musicians he chooses to perform with consistently please audiences in myriad venues. A Daily Argus quote from the founder of the PJS about an early New York performance continues to resonate: “Everyone who attended the concert was ecstatic, and Dennis was the catalyst, the one who put the concert together. It was thoroughly creative Bebop Jazz.”

Awards

http://radioindylocal2956.blogspot.com/2009/06/radioindy-is-pleased-to-present- dennis.html Thursday, June 11, 2009 RadioIndy is pleased to present Dennis Day with a GrIndie Award for the CD "All Things In Time" RadioIndy is pleased to present Dennis Day with a GrIndie Award for the CD "All Things In Time" Vocalist Dennis Day puts a contemporary twist on many jazz classics and standards with "All Things In Time." He covers many styles within the jazz idiom including bebop, ballads, and the blues. Day is backed by a tremendously talented cast of musicians, providing both wonderful solos and support throughout. The album opens with a spirited rendition of Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol's "Caravan," which features scat singing from Day reminiscent of the great Al Jarreau. Day continues with a bouncy, swinging version of Horace Silver's classic "Sister Sadie," which is highlighted by great work from trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. "Everything Must Change" provides a gentler, tender moment, with a soulful Day singing over fine accompaniment from the pianist and flutist, with swirling brushes provided by the drummer. Another definite highlight is the "Blues Medley," which includes a grooving version of "Stormy Monday." Dennis Day covers many styles and presents a strong offering to the fan of jazz standards, blues, and bebop with "All Things In Time."