The Blue Note Presents Madeleine Peyroux 4/27-5/2
By: Gabrielle Sierra
Vocalist Madeleine Peyroux returns to the Blue Note for a special series of concerts with her band featuring guitarist Jon Herington, keyboardist Gary Versace, bassist Barak Mori, and drummer Darren Beckett. Her latest recording, Bare Bones (2009, Rounder), was called "a remarkable work" by All Music Guide and features 11 original tracks. *Note that 19 year-old vocalist and upright bassist Kate Davis will open for Madeleine Peyroux on Wednesday, April 28 only from 6:30 to 7:30pm at no additional charge as a part of the Blue Note's Emerging Artist Series presented by Brother Thelonious of North Coast Brewing Company.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 27 - Sunday, May 2, 2010; Sets @ 8:00pm & 10:30pmWITH: Madeleine Peyroux, vocals; Jon Herington, guitar; Gary Versace, keyboards; Barak Mori, bass; Darren Beckett, drums COST: $45 @ table /$30 @ barWHERE: The Blue Note; 131 W 3rd. St, New York, NY 10012MORE: Doors open at 6pm. Set times are 8pm and 10:30pm nightly.BIO: Madeleine Peyroux [pronounced like the country Peru] was born in Athens, Georgia, she grew up between Brooklyn, Southern California and Paris, though it was in the City of Light where she found her voice. As a teen she was drawn to street music, and in 1989 she started to perform with a group of buskers. She then joined the Lost Wandering Blues & Jazz Band, becoming the only female in the group, which toured around Europe for several years.Madeleine burst onto the recording scene in 1996, with her stunning debut album Dreamland. Madeleine was greeted with a veritable torrent of gushing reviews. Most raved about her smoke-and-whiskey vocals, often comparing her to the late, great Billie Holiday. Others wondered how someone so young could perform classic songs by Holiday, Bessie Smith and Patsy Cline so convincingly as to make them sound like her own. Time magazine pronounced the groundbreaking Dreamland "the most exciting, involving vocal performance by a new singer this year."6:30 - 7:30pm ; Wednesday, April 28, 2010"How is it that a (19-year-old) can smoke up the corners of jazz clubs with a dark voice that strolls along in a silky alto before soaring to the rafters in clear, true notes that wash over listeners like a breeze at sunset? And more often than not, she does it while flying along on the upright bass, her heavily callused fingers diving and climbing through octaves of musical thoughts that intermingle with her lyrics like smoke. Listen for yourself. In only a couple of measures of sound you'll discover the startling skills that this week won Davis recognition as one of the nation's 141 Presidential Scholars. And she's one of only 20 high school seniors selected for their artistic accomplishments. In the old melancholy Nat King Cole standard, "I'm Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life," Davis' syrupy voice is lush and hypnotic, the simple lines swinging through a string of emotions you can't imagine the teen-ager can understand. Yet, like any gifted singer, she makes it all very intimate, as if each line was somehow written to tell the story of anyone who happens to be listening at the time. In one old standard after another, her voice cascades along the fault lines of love -- first big and full with the brazen confidence of new love, then cracking in all right places at the sudden breakup, before dropping to whispered tones. 'I'm not as old and wise as I sound,' said Davis. 'Everything is obviously not about my own life. I don't know, sometimes through the beauty of the music, the lyrics, the songs have a life of their own.'" - Oregonlive.com 19-year-old Kate Davis is a rising star on the national jazz scene, a vocalist and upright bassist with a tone and maturity far beyond her years. Growing up as a classical violinist, Kate experienced a variety of musical styles since age 5. When relocated to the Pacific Northwest, she was fortunate to be a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic from which she is an alumnae after terms as principal 2nd violin, and principal bassist.Life in Oregon enabled two new passions-coffee and jazz. From then on, the upright bass and voice became her primary musical outlets. Nurtured by the supportive music community in Portland Oregon, she was able to satisfy her hunger to learn and perform.Recently, Kate achieved national recognition for her jazz bass and vocals. She was named an NFAA "youngARTS" Silver winner, is a four time Downbeat Magazine Student Award winner, a two time participant in the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, and was bassist in the Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Most recently she was selected as a Presidential Scholar of the Arts, which included a White House visit and an opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center. She began studies at Manhattan School of Music in New York City this fall semester.
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