With her lavishly praised 2013 debut album Black Lace Blue Tears under her belt, late-blooming jazz vocalist and composer Eugenie Jones immediately faced questions about whether she was a one-hit wonder or a real contender. Sure, she displayed quick rhythmic reflexes, a silken tone, and real songwriting savvy, but did Jones have what it takes to go the distance, to sustain a career in jazz’s cruelly competitive ring.
Her even more impressive second album, Come Out Swingin’, makes a persuasive case for Jones’s status as a heavyweight talent. Seasoned by several years of steady work following the release of Black Lace, the Seattle-area singer displays the rhythmic authority, emotional insight, and melodic invention of an artist who can hold her own in any company. “With Black Lace Blue Tears behind me I wondered, was that a fluke? Do I really have a gift, can I continue? Almost immediately I started writing again,” says Jones, “and put those questions to rest. This CD was a deliberate attempt to continue to grow and progress. I set that desire for improvement as a bull’s-eye to shoot for and kept that focus through each step of this project.”
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“Seattle-based vocalist Eugenie Jones may have been a latecomer to the jazz world, but she displays the seasoned sensibilities of a jazz lifer on her sophomore release, Come Out Swingin'. The follow-up to her well-received 2013 debut album, Black Lace Blue Tears, the album more than lives up to its title, showcasing Jones' smoke- and-satin vocals in settings that float like a butterfly and swing like a night at the Savoy. Beyond her instantly engaging vocals and sharp rhythm instincts, Jones also happens to be a topflight composer, penning both melodies and lyrics to tunes that are completely at home in the jazz idiom. She enlists a sharp group of musicians to back her up, including pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Clipper Anderson and drummer D'Vonne Lewis. Jazziz Magazine
“In that overcrowded arena known as “female jazz singers”, Seattle-based Eugenie Jones manages to stand apart from the crowd. Ms. Jones has filled both of her outstanding albums with her own engaging compositions. This fact alone differentiates her as she is one of the very few African-American women singer- songwriters in jazz today. And finally, the lady can sing as well as she can write... Eugenie Jones has released two first-rate albums in the last three years and she is an intelligent, thoughtful composer in the tradition of Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone. Fans of true jazz singing, it’s time for you to sit up and take notice.” Curtis Davenport Curt’s Jazz “Best of 2015”
Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award 2013 NW Recording of The Year Paul Debarros Seattle Times
Black Lace Blue Tears...”This is an impressive debut recording by a singer who didn’t begin to work professionally until a few years ago. A West Virginia native who is now based in Seattle, Eugenie Jones brims over with confidence and authority. She sings a number of originals that are invested with aplomb and relish. Ennui, musical deconstruction, primal screaming, horn envy and emotional exhibitionism are not part of Jones’ musical vocabulary. Her strong suit is rhythm and swinging….Her medium-dynamic alto brings an unforced lyricisim to Paul Desmond’s “Take Five. 3.5 Stars” Kirk Silsbee DownBeat Magazine
”A debut release is usually feast or famine and to include nine originals is going all in on your talent. Something tells me the smart money goes on the success of Eugenie Jones and Black Lace Blue Tears. .... full of passion and raw emotion and is that rare breed of artist that sidesteps pretentiousness and allows the music to take center stage. Highly entertaining! 4 Stars.” Brent Black Critical Jazz
Press . . . Singer Songwriter Entertainer
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For starters, Jones possesses the wisdom to keep essentially the same battle-tested band in her corner, most importantly the incisive and consummately supportive pianist/arranger Bill Anschell. Veteran bassist Clipper Anderson and versatile guitarist Michael Powers also returned to action. Three new faces joined Jones’ line up this round. Seattle native, multi-instrumentalist horn man extraordinaire: Jay Thomas; drummer D’Vonne Lewis, a rising force on the Seattle scene who plays with tremendous poise and spirit and the incomparable percussionist, Ernesto Pediangco.
“I was looking for quality musicians and personalities that would mesh with my own,” Jones says. “Already having had great experiences with the other musicians, I added Jay for his enormous talent and newcomer D’Vonne Lewis for his smooth, yet intense playing ability.” In this high-energy swing project, it doesn’t take long for the musicians’ combustible chemistry to ignite.
Like her first album, Come Out Swingin’ focuses on Jones’s original songs. She announces her rhythmic agenda with the first track, “Swing Me,” a self-possessed celebration of unbridled desire. Her brief, exciting version of the standard “All of Me,” almost serves as a thematic preamble to her slinky “A Way About You,” a song that could easily be mistaken for a sophisticated piece of Bacharach/David. Jones cast a wide net when it comes to finding inspiration as a composer. She takes the smoldering up a notch with “Sweet Summer Love,” a song that emerged after watching Marvin Ritt’s moody and sweat-streaked 1958 film The Long Hot Summer, a kind of mashup of Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. Her love of cinema returns on “Rain Rain Don’t Go Away,” a seductive song about self-comfort that never lapses into self-pity. She’s at her most sleek and self-assured on “I’m Alright,” a soulful declaration of independence propelled by some tasty D’Vonne Lewis samba-fused trap work.
Awards
Earshot Jazz NW Recording of the Year artist
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