Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, Blossom Dearie, Julie London and many others.
“Roberta Donnay is a major new find. The fact that Orrin Keepnews produced her record is a tipoff, plus that her backup trio includes pianist Eric Reed with four guest appearances from tenor saxophonist Dave Ellis. Roberta has a very appealing voice somewhat reminiscent tone-wise of Norah Jones. However, she is much more of a jazz singer than Jones, swinging, using subtle improvising, making some tunes quite bluesy and displaying versatility. What's Your Story is a very impressive effort, highly recommended. It makes one happy that Roberta Donnay has decided to pursue a jazz career.” - Scott Yanow, L.A. Jazz Scene
After close to a half-century at the top of his game, venerable producer Orrin Keepnews now restricts himself to working with a small handful of artists, one of whom is vocalist Roberta Donnay… It is obvious throughout these dozen tracks that she knows how to swing and can sell a ballad with the best of them. There’s an infectiously charismatic lilt to her “What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?”; an inviting hint of pending delight in her “Small Day Tomorrow”; an intoxicatingly sexy push-pull at the heart of her self-penned “Stop This Train!”; a marvelous bluesiness that invigorates Mose Allison’s whip-smart “If You Live”; and the blurry regret of her “Drinkin’ Again” can match June Christy’s “Something Cool” shot glass for shot glass. If What’s Your Story is indicative of Donnay’s musical future, then let’s all be grateful she’s thrown her hat into the jazz ring. -Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
Sounds Like
"Roberta Donnay is an exception. She covers such songs as Johnny Mercer's "Drinkin' Again," and Bob Dorough and Fran Landesman's "Small Day Tomorrow" in the same way that she covers her face in the photo on the cover of her album: with a wide brim. Her engagement with the lyrics, her supple sense of time and her soulful, little-girl timbre reminds you of Billie Holiday. She is elegantly accompanied by the pianist Eric Reed and a discreet rhythm section." - Mike Zwerin, Herald Tribune Int'l.
Forward by Orrin Keepnews:
At this specific point in my long professional life as a jazz record producer, I have chosen to limit my serious artistic involvements to only three performers. I am very pleased that one of them is the remarkable young singer you are learning something about at this time Roberta Donnay!
I have been producing jazz records for extremely close to fifty years by now, a statistic that would frighten me if not for two facts: I have enjoyed the work just about all of that time, and I have had the opportunity to collaborate with a great many valuable and enjoyable artists and thus to help support and advance some quite notable careers. This also means that I have pretty consistently faced the reality of making value judgements about talent. I won't claim not to have made some mistakes along the way, but for the most part I remain proud of my decisions, and pleased to emphatically note that for a great many years now I have not accepted producing assignments on any basis other than my own enthusiasm. I do not intend to change that policy, making Roberta one of a deliberately small group of my current personal artistic commitments.
I actually first met Roberta not as a singer but as a colleague. Although East Coast natives, we have both been living and working in San Francisco for quite some time, and have worked together for some time as members of the board of governors of the local chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. I became aware that, although enjoying success as a pop singer and producer, and as a songwriter with a substantial number of film and TV credits, Roberta felt increasingly driven to re-invent herself as the kind of artist she had initially wanted to be; a full-fledged jazz singer.
Having heard her, and becoming aware of the potential of her talent and of the depth of her drive in this particular direction, I became convinced not only that I could help her towards achieving her goal, but that I very much wanted to offer that help. (To move at a tangent for a moment, let me point out that, while the bulk of my producing efforts have been with instrumentalists Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, Cannonball Adderley, Joe Henderson and Bobby Hutcherson are some of them I also have a certain track record with a variety of singers that includes Abbey Lincoln, Mark Murphy, Flora Purim, Wesla Whitfield.)
Roberta and I have been working hard for more than a year. I have sought to expose her to a great many influences (some of whom she was quite familiar with) and a wide variety of classic and recent material, believing that talent like hers combined with a thorough grounding in the art she is now exploring must have strong results.
We are at work on the careful construction of an album that will draw from a wide range of songs and singers. (If you listen carefully to examples of her current work, you might learn that she has paid proper attention to such as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae and many others. You will also learn that, like any truly valid performer, there is a lot that belongs entirely to herself including numbers in her repertoire that are her own compositions.)
~ Orrin Keepnews
Hey everyone, this page is urs. add to friends for a world where everybody's happy, wealthy, healthy, everything is free, everyone has everything. all negatives aspect of life disappeared. & if u care more for a world like this than for a place in ur top friends u can even place the page to share the idea with ur friends.
Hi Roberta Donnay,
Thanx 4 being friends !!!
Have a nice Day and enjoy the life!!!
Greetinx
ø Tim
P.S.
Soularia performed their unreleased Track "Life Is Unbelievable"on a 2 square meter balcony on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg. Click here for the video, and if you like, leave a comment and / or rate it on the youtube site
Hi Roberta, I enjoyed Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks show in Tokyo very much last night. I wish you have a lot of fun on this Japan tour. See you again at the final show in Yokohama.
I have been remiss on this cwazy whacky doodle dandy thang I call space-land. I REALLY want to thank you for being who you are and the MAGNIFICO singer you are. I so appreciate having met you. An amazing singer and performer indee-ee-do dah. See ya round' Marin soon. Time for me to hit the road to Washington to get together with some music pals and my mama. She NEEDS to dance.
My DVD
Documentary Trailer “Progression of a Child Prodigy”
Me (12
years old) performing Beethoven and Chopin at a church. Different musicians got together to
share each others talents. It’s
normally called a shed. Chelsea
thought it was comical to hear other musicians reacting to her
performance. Check it out.
Dear Roberta, thanks for finding & adding me, it..s a pleasure to be your friend! :) Great singing, I wish you all the best, and keep swingin..!:) Anne
From Across The Vast Reaches of our Uncharted Realms... The Ringlords™ bid you Welcome & Well Met!!!
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Thanks for the ADD The Dog House Musician and events photographer Member National Photographers at Musicians and Fine Artists for World Peace a network of musicians, artists and performers working to promote events & concerts focused on peace and raising global consciousness. www.butterflyspirit.org/projects/mfawp_list.php .. .. Check out my friend Andy www.myspace.com/badddogblues badddogbluessociety.com
HAPPY EASTER FROM WOODSTOCK 2009! thank for your friendship, be invited to listen to my new song "woodstock" demoversion in celebration of the event's 40th anniversary! I'll be delighted to receive a message / your comment.
