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Kandace Springs

Every so often a new singer emerges who’s able to assimilate multiple musical touchstones and still come off sounding remarkably fresh and unburdened by the past. Kandace Springs is one of those artists. The 27-year-old, Nashville-based singer, songwriter and pianist counts such stylists as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Norah Jones as her heroes, but as evidenced by her sparkling full-length Blue Note Records debut, Soul Eyes, Springs mimics none of them.

Instead Springs allows her comely alto to become a conduit that touches upon soul, jazz and pop while transforming those aforementioned influences into a personalized sound that reveals itself effortlessly. “The artists who have inspired me the most all sang so naturally,” Springs says. “That helped me find my own sound.”

Springs’ journey to discovering her uniqueness didn’t happen overnight. In fact, her 2014 self-titled debut EP had a decidedly contemporary R&B/hip-hop bent with production by Pop & Oak (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Miguel). The EP was incredibly well-received and led to TV performances on Late Show With David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as well as appearances at the Afropunk and Bonnaroo festivals.

As amazing an experience as that was, as Springs got ready to record her album she couldn’t shake the feeling that she wasn’t yet singing her true self. Conversations with her longtime producers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers led to soul searching and rethinking her musical direction. Eventually Springs returned to a more spacious, organic sound that channels her earlier jazz influences as well as her Nashville upbringing.

Also during this period, Springs attracted the attention of Prince, who heard her makeover of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” on the website Okayplayer. The music icon invited her to perform with him at Paisley Park for the 30th anniversary of Purple Rain. “He encouraged me a lot before I recorded this new record, especially during the time in which I was trying to figure out my sound,” Springs says. “He told me that I needed to do what comes naturally to me. He was absolutely right.”

For Soul Eyes, Springs continued working closely with Rogers and Sturken, but they also recruited Grammy-winning producer Larry Klein (Lizz Wright, Melody Gardot, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock) to help the singer bring out her distinctive artistic traits. “Larry wanted me to be free in the studio,” Springs recalls. “I’ve been through a lot of other sessions in which the producer tries to take control of your sound. Larry was just like, ‘Go in and play what you feel.’ That ultimately led to the best outcome; he captured this record perfectly.”

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Live Review

Kandace Springs Quartet / Sasha Berliner Quartet at Jazz Alley

Read "Kandace Springs Quartet / Sasha Berliner Quartet at Jazz Alley" reviewed by Paul Rauch


Kandace Springs Quartet/ Sasha Berliner Quartet Jazz Alley Seattle, WA February 27, 2022 Seattle's premier jazz showroom, Jazz Alley, celebrated its 40th anniversary in anonymity during the pandemic lockdown. John Dimitriou's 400-seater in the Belltown neighborhood grew from humble beginnings in the city's University district, where “The Alley" was hatched as a 100-seat bistro. The bounce-back from the doldrums of COVID isolation has been a strong one, however, with the club returning to ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Kandace Springs, Sidney Bichet, Marquis Hill and More

Read "Kandace Springs, Sidney Bichet, Marquis Hill and More" reviewed by Joe Dimino


With a show spotlighting the work of Kandace Springs, Delfeayo Marsalis, Marquis Hill and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, we wish to underscore our ongoing commitment to African-American culture as well as our support to the Black Lives Matter movement for just and equal treatment of all humans. Keep on fighting the good fight. Enjoy the jazz, my friends. Playlist Kandace Springs “Devil May Care" The Women Who Raised Me (Blue Note) 00:00 Host talks 3:19 Nina Simone “I Want ...

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Album Review

Kandace Springs: The Women Who Raised Me

Read "The Women Who Raised Me" reviewed by Peter J. Hoetjes


Cover albums tend to sort themselves pretty neatly into two separate bins. One is filled with tiresome stacks of uninspired music soon to be filed away and forgotten. The other, smaller pile is made up of those few in which the artist on the cover managed to do something more than parrot their predecessors. Those who wish to belong to the latter group find a way to add a personal touch to their songs, in such a way that each ...

150
Live Review

Kandace Springs At Yoshi's Oakland

Read "Kandace Springs At Yoshi's Oakland" reviewed by Walter Atkins


Kandace Springs Yoshis Oakland Oakland CA February 19, 2020 Talented Blue Note Records singer-songwriter and pianist Kandace Springs graced the stage at Yoshi's in jny: Oakland for a pleasantly packed house engagement. Springs presented tracks from her debut album Soul Eyes (Blue Note Records, 2016) and from Indigo (Blue Note Records, 2018), along with music on her upcoming album The Women Who Raised Me (Blue Note Records, 2020). She called her new record a tribute ...

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Live Review

Atlanta Jazz Festival 2019

Read "Atlanta Jazz Festival 2019" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Atlanta Jazz Festival Atlanta, GA May 25-26, 2019 Last year the festival operated under the threat of rain all weekend. This year's 42nd edition saw record-tying high temperatures: 93 and 94 degrees Fahrenheit (ten degrees above the historical averages). No doubt it is a coincidence that the programming was cooler than last year's: lots of contemporary/smooth jazz and pop, and very little progressive jazz or Latin. Not that this had any apparent effect on the size ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Kandace Springs

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Introducing Kandace Springs

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring singer, songwriter and keyboardist Kandace Springs, who will be making her St. Louis debut with performances starting Wednesday, March 18 and continuing through Sunday, March 22 at Jazz St. Louis. Springs, 31, grew up in a musical family in Nashville, and first came to wide attention after moving to New York City and signing with Blue Note Records in 2014. After releasing a self-titled EP that year, she subsequently has ...

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TV / Film

Sanborn Sessions Episode 1: Kandace Springs

Sanborn Sessions Episode 1: Kandace Springs

Source: Sanborn Sessions

Season Premier Kandace Springs joins David Sanborn and his house band at Dave’s home studio in New York for the first session of Sanborn Sessions. Springs performs “People Make The World Go Round” and “Solitude” alongside Sanborn with support from Ben Williams on bass, Alice Soyer on vocals, Nate Smith on drums, Jon Herington on guitar, and Andy Ezrin on keyboards. The songs from the episode will be individually released as shorter video content for more bite-sized consumption, including two ...

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