On MIRROR: Kathleen Grace - vocals, jaymar toy piano, happy apple Perry Smith - guitar Matt Politnao - piano and BG vocals for "Let Me Go" Sam Minaie - bass Matt Mayhall - drums Bobby Wilmore - percussion, Erik Kertes on "A Place for you" lap steel, bass, giutar and rhodes. Produced by KG, recorded by Paull Tavernner Big City Recording Studios, mixed and mastered by Nate Wood Kerseboom Studios Release date: October 21 2008, Monsoon Music
Influences
Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Ahmad Jamal, Nick Drake, Brad Mehldau, The Beattles, Dave Douglas, Tom Waits, Steven Sondheim, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Neko Case, Don Edwards, Mr. Rogers, Robert Adams, Wernor Herzog, Irene Krall, Stevie Wonder, Emmylou Harris...good good stuff
WASHINGTON POST PRESS:
" Wednesday's performance suggested that Grace's role models, who include Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman and Nancy Wilson, have only encouraged her to find her own way. She has a lovely voice -- a lithe, ethereal soprano...Grace spent part of her show providing listeners with a sneak peek at her new seven-track release "Mirror," casting a dreamy spell with the self-penned title cut and infusing Newman's "Let Me Go" with the requisite bluesy ennui. At once smart, alluring and evocative..." - Mike Joyce, Washington Post
"Short take: Eclectic L.A. chanteuse gets it right
Mix jazz with pop and you're likely to end up with Diana Krall or worse. L.A. vocalist Kathleen Grace, whose influences run from Wayne Shorter to Nick Drake, is considerably more inspired on this, her third album...In providing a missing link between the cocktail lounge and the concert hall, Mirror does them both proud. " Bill Forman, COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT
Blog Critics Magazine
Written by Jordan Richardson
Published October 23, 2008
"The Kathleen Grace Band lives somewhere between cheeky and poignant, plugging their brand of jazz, rock, and folk into the purity of music and coming up with awe-inspiring results...Based out of Los Angeles, Grace and her band have worked through the music scene in the area with their attention to detail, extraordinary storytelling abilities, and delightfully pure music.Their third release is Mirror, a selection of tracks with modern day fables serving as the cores of the songs. These stories of love, power, loss, and passion are charming and textured. They serve as reminders of our humanity, of our reflections, and of the inner compartments of our hearts."
TUCSON CITIZEN, Chuck Graham
While academically trained musicians peer into the crystal ball of murky music theory to search for the future of jazz, a smaller group of independently minded young musicians looks to the far more accessible fields of pop and folk music for inspiration...
By turns haunting, bittersweet, insightful and buoyant, Grace, along with her favorite creative colleagues Perry Smith, guitar, and Matt Politano, piano/backup vocals, mix new jazz colors that don't require a college semester of music appreciation to appreciate. Grace's supple soprano has a pop singer's immediacy coupled with a three-octave range that can take her anyplace.. The mystery of Grace's art runs deep. What we know for sure is this musical road map can take you somewhere important.
Midwest Record
"Charting a new route that your won't be able to pigeon hole straight away, Grace is a jazzy vocalist that mines a Rickie Lee Jones groove with a smoother voice and veers it into classic singer/songwriter territory. A smart and polished presentation, Grace has loads on the ball and the open eared looking for a new kick are sure to find it right off here. (Monsoon)"
- Chris Spector
JAZZTIMES Jan/Feb 2009
"Stunning...(Kathleen Grace) proves herself as sultry and street-smart as Peggy Lee, armed and ready for conquest" - Christopher Louden
Thanks also to Portfolio Weekly and Jim Newsom for the great article about the east coast tour and my former life as a drum major.... read all about it
"The music was absolutely lovely." Tracy Brown Best of SXSW Blog, Dallas Morning News
JFJO returns to LA in support of their new album One Day in Brooklyn on Wed. Sept. 9th at Catalina Jazz Club w/Eartha Austria Trio. This is an EARLY SHOW - seating starts ay 6:45pm and music at 8pm! See you soon!
Dear Kathleen, Thank you very much for friendship. I realy love your voice and your music. You're so beautiful, sensitive, gifted. Hoping see you one day on stage in Paris or USA. Wishing all the best for you, success and love. Sending you many kisses.
Aloha and thank you for including us in your circle of friends. Please accept our respects and a heartfelt "mahalo" to you for giving the world your beautiful sweet sounds ~ Namaste Sweet Soul. Wishing you well, A & B LaBorte for "Spirit Soul & Friends"
JFJO returns to LA in support of their new album One Day in Brooklyn on Wed. Sept. 9th at Catalina Jazz Club w/Eartha Austria Trio. This is an EARLY SHOW - seating starts ay 6:45pm and music at 8pm! See you soon!
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