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Rachel Caswell

Jazz vocalist Rachel Caswell is known for her improvisational prowess, her pinpoint accuracy of pitch and rhythm, and her depth of delivery and interpretation of popular song. Her most recent recording, We’re All in the Dance (2018), features some of New York’s top performers including Dave Stryker, Fabian Almazan, Linda May Han Oh, Johnathan Blake, and Sara Caswell. Mark Sullivan of All About Jazz writes, “This is a great band….Caswell is the star, but she’s no diva. She is much better than that: a jazz musician in the company of other jazz musicians.” Her CD All I Know: Duets with Dave Stryker & Jeremy Allen (2015) elicited the following response from jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan: “Rachel is a wonderful singer with a deep feeling and a fantastic improvisational talent complemented by a lovely rich sound.” And in response to Rachel’s debut CD Some Other Time (2003) with Lynne Arriale, Kelly Sill, Steve Davis, and her sister, violinist Sara Caswell, internationally renowned jazz pedagogue David Baker said, “Rachel Caswell is that rara avis who is truly a jazz vocalist. Her intonation is impeccable, her diction precise, her jazz sensibilities above reproach, and she swings like mad!”

Rachel has performed at colleges, festivals, and a variety of venues nationwide. In addition to her solo work, she and her sister Sara co-lead the Caswell Sisters Quintet and have made such notable appearances as a weeklong After-Hours engagement at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City and an enthusiastically received set on the opening night concert of the 2010 Jazz Education Network (JEN) Conference in St. Louis. Their debut Caswell Sisters album Alive in the Singing Air featuring jazz pianist Fred Hersch was released in early 2013 and has garnered numerous rave reviews. Other notables with whom Rachel has performed include The Glenn Miller Orchestra, John Blake, Jr., Ingrid Jensen, the Billy Taylor Trio, and Curtis Fuller.

In addition, Rachel has appeared at the Bar Next Door in New York, New York, the 2016 JEN Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cornelia Street Café in New York, New York, ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, New York, and the Jazz Cabaret Series at the Kentucky Center of the Arts in Louisville, Kentucky. Appearances at colleges and universities include Temple University, University of Denver, Vassar College, Depauw University, Hope College, University of Evansville, Eastern Illinois University, West Virginia State University, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Indiana State University, and the University of Indianapolis. She has also performed with big bands in Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, with jazz bands from Indiana University and Ball State University, and with the Stardusters Big Band.

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Album Review

Rachel Caswell: We're All in the Dance

Read "We're All in the Dance" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


È una vocalist per un pubblico di nicchia, Rachel Caswell, ma i percorsi che portano al successo internazionale sono complessi e talvolta misteriosi e non sempre riflettono il talento individuale. Al suo promettente debutto discografico del 2003 (Some Other Time) è seguita una lunga parentesi didattica, che l'ha tenuta per oltre un decennio lontana dai riflettori. Nel 2015 ha pubblicato un secondo lavoro in coppia con il chitarrista Dave Stryker e il bassista Jeremy Allen (All I ...

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Album Review

Rachel Caswell: We're All in the Dance

Read "We're All in the Dance" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


If you want proof of singer Rachel Caswell's jazz chops, you could skip right to the last two tracks. She scats the head of bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker's evergreen “Dexterity" along with guitarist (and producer) Dave Stryker, then blends in with the rest of the band for a round of solos. Sticking with the bebop theme, pianist Thelonious Monk's “Reflections" is a beautiful ballad, this time with lyrics from singer Jon Hendricks. It is a feature for the voice and ...

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“Rachel is a classic jazz singer, with a voice that is velvet and powerful, as happy providing scat as she is just rolling around the lyrics….Jazz singing rarely gets any better than this.” – Kev Rowland, Jazz Music Archives

“Rachel’s flawless tone, creative phrasing and interest in exploring many different genres make her a vocalist with unlimited potential. She excels in finding uncharted paths into well-known songs and has considerable chops as a scat singer.” – Ken Dryden, Hot House Jazz Magazine

“All I Know, is that Rachel Caswell is a tremendous musician who sings beautifully….Her tone is gorgeous and her pitch is, simply, sensational!” – Rufus Reid, Jazz Bassist/Composer

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Primary Instrument

Vocals

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

We're All in the Dance

Turtle Ridge Records
2018

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All I Know: Duets...

Turtle Ridge Records
2015

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Some Other Time

Self Produced
2003

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