Janet Stevenson

Music

FEATURED SONG

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Just in Time

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Released: Oct 2, 2011

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Just in Time
3:23
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Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye)
5:39
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Total Plays: 606 / Plays Today: 1See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Blues / Jazz / Latin
Location ATLANTA, Un
Profile Views: 7110
Last Login: 12/4/2012
Member Since 12/1/2007
Website janetstevenson.com
Record Label Self-produced
Type of Label Unsigned
Bio
"Believe in Spring" i s a journey through life, emotion, and most of all, great vocal jazz. Janet brings her warm and swinging vocals to a refreshing mix of ballads, swing, blues, and Brazilian songs. Janet's passion for the music is shaped by a lifetime of listening to and performing jazz, and an education from some of its finest performers. She credits her sense of swing, great ears and pitch to her father, a jazz drummer who insisted that she study piano. Encouragement also came from performing with Cleveland "Cleve" Eaton, former bassist with Count Basie Orchestra and Ramsey Lewis Trio, along with her musical theatre experience. Janet says that her top vocal influences were Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae, and Sarah Vaughan.. Inspired by John Coltrane, she recorded the seldom-heard lyrics to Say It (Over and Over), saying that it "just picked itself" as the opening song for the CD. She learned Edu Lobo's Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye) in Portuguese because she was determined to capture its Brazilian feel. Her appreciation for great songwriters shows in Ivan Lins' The Island and You Must Believe in Spring, by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The Bergmans, she says, "are just amazing lyricists," adding that You Must Believe in Spring isn't just about the change in the seasons, but about "believing in love." She was drawn to Abbey Lincoln's philosophical lyrics penned for Blue Monk. Another ballad, Never Let Me Go, is the result of Janet's study with the great pianist Barry Harris, who told her it was a song that every singer should learn. . "Beautiful, heartfelt and swinging renditions of timeless songs that take us on a musical and emotional journey. Wonderfully played by the musicians accompanying and fabulously sung by Janet Stevenson!" . – Anita Wardell: Winner, 2006 BBC "Best of Jazz" Award. "I have enjoyed your new CD very much…the cover, song choices, mood of the CD are all so nice - you sound very relaxed too. Congratulations.". – Roseanna Vitro: 2011 Grammy nominee & jazz educator. Profits from the sale of this CD will be dedicated to vocal jazz education and programming for the Dunwoody Jazz Society.
Members
Influences
Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Dianne Reeves, Jon Hendricks, Kurt Elling, Mark Murphy, Eddie Jefferson, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tierney Sutton, Rebecca Parris, Elis Regina, Bobby McFerrin, Tom Jobim, Diana Krall, Shirley Horn, Billie Holiday, Judy Niemack, Janet Lawson, Mel Torme, Dinah Washington, Roseanna Vitro, Barry Harris, Annie Ross, Kevin Mahogany, Johnny Hartman, Bill Evans, Mose Allison, Eliane Elias, Astrud Gilberto, Leny Andrade, Lorraine Feather, Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, Joe Williams, George Benson, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Keely Smith, Louis Prima, Louis Jordan, Ray Charles, B. B. King, Johnny Shines, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny, Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Cyrus Chestnut, Liz Spraggins, Gary Motley, Zelpha Wells, Dr. Frank Adams, David Amram, Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Ruth Brown, Debbie Bond, Steve Norris, Ron Norris, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Lynne Arriale, Brad Mehldau, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, Scott LaFaro, Eddie Gomez, Ron Carter, George Mesterhazy, Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Billy Taylor, Count Basie, Marian McPartland, Jim Hall, Johnny Winter, Willie King, Cleveland Eaton, Stevie Wonder, Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand), Sun Ra, Oscar Brown, Etta James, Erskine Hawkins And too many more to list!
Sounds Like
A (very) little like many of the great singers who came before me - Ella, Sassy, Carmen, Shirley Horn