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stephanie nilles

stephanie nilles Radio

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FEATURED SONG
A Great Notion
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A Great Notion
Album:
Released: Jan 1, 2009
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General Info

  • Genre: Folk / Jazz / Punk

    Location New Orleans, Louisiana, US

    Profile Views: 100568

    Last Login: 8/28/2011

    Member Since 3/25/2007

    Website stephanienilles.com

    Record Label Attention Spaniel Records

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    Born in Chicago to a chemical engineer and an architect, Stephanie Nilles is an active musician of varying genres by sheer accident. At 17, she was a finalist at the Young Concert Artists' International Competition. At 22, she had graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a BM in classical piano performance. These days, she's performing her own 40's jazz/punk tunes, described by listeners as "Ella Fitzgerald on speed beating the shit out of Regina Spektor" and "Tom Waits on helium," out on the road in a hatchback with a Roland. She has performed at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, The Bitter End, The Cutting Room, WFMT's "Live from Studio One," NPR's "From the Top," and at the International Folk Alliance and SXSW Music Festival, and she has collaborated with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Joel Newton, and Christian Howes, in styles ranging from free improv to burlesque accompaniment. Stephanie's songs, sometimes her own and sometimes jazz standards modified in vocalese style, address issues ranging from drug busts in her neighborhood to the challenges and joys of life on the road. Stephanie has released two full-length albums, "reDemo" (2008) and "The Off-White Album and Waltzes in the Key of Gypsy McGee" (2009) and is an Attention Spaniel Recording Artist. .. "Armed with a shot glass of whiskey, Stephanie Nilles sings Ella. But she doesn’t just sing it- she whispers and howls out the words in a Rickie Lee Jones-every sentence is a super cool beatnik epiphany- sort of way ... Stephanie, who looks slightly like Jane after a few years with Tarzan, which is to say she has a striking stage presence, was putting every other pianist in the club to shame. She is a poet without being pretentious about it; she is bluesy, jazzy, soulful (in her way), and lets her music pour out in such an organic way. Her songs can be analyzed word for word, or they can be taken impressionistically, fixating instead on the overall mood. Whenever she plays, the room falls dead silent. Whether everyone will be able to absorb all of the complexity and nuances of her music is unimportant. What is important is that everyone will try." (exterminating angel press)... .. ..Buy the music here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stephanienilles, http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/StephanieNilles2, and on iTunes!.. .. To join the mailing list, email: stephanienilles@gmail.com... .. .. .. "Stephanie Nilles, hailing from New Orleans, is possibly the most compelling jazz piano/lounge punk singer since Tom Waits started chain smoking and singing about sailors. With a voice that manically switches from sultry soul to wild yelping, not to mention mad piano skills and a wild performance energy, Nilles has the talent to shuffle past the mediocre label props grinding their teeth on Top 40 radio today. Her sound is refreshing and irreverent, and those willing to give her a chance will find that they can easily latch on to her style without being forced to leave their boxed-in tastes; no matter what you prefer to listen to, you can at least appreciate the sweetly unusual nature of her music." -AudioSuade .. .. "Nilles, an ex-classical pianist turned jazz and blues belter, tours year-round singing personally and passionately with a voice reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald, if Ella was a little tweaked and really adamant about sticking it to the man." -Spinner .. .. "Singer/songwriter Stephanie Nilles makes something fresh out of things lost. A graduate of Cleveland Institute of Music, she is a serious classical pianist gone bard. When you think Nilles, think of a quirky mix of subversive vagabond and sultry artist, a burlesque cocktail of wit and substance. No need to wonder what she's thinking — she weaves it into her music, which growls like Eartha Kitt and bites like Tom Waits ... With a unique outlook on life, music that's as intellectual as it is entertaining and a voice capable of transcending the tracks of the indie railroad, Nilles is just the kind of treasure that music aficionados love to discover." -The Daily Times .. .. "While she may be on the receiving end of comparisons now, her performance will leave few surprised if others might someday be compared to her." -The Observer .. .. "Stephanie Nilles is a Bad Ass ... Her songs are full of political satire and bold, shocking ideas you've subconsciously formed but never figured out how to articulate. And she only uses maybe 7 or 8 chords..." -Christian Howes .. .. "Friend is a strong word." -Isto

  • Members

    Stephanie Nilles, and sometimes with Matt Wigton on upright bass, Rawson Vint on tape recorder, Rob Mosher on clarinet and sax, Petr Cancura on mandolin and sax, Micah Killion on trumpet, Ryan Cavanaugh on banjo, Christian Sedelmeyer, Christian Howes, and Billy Contreras on fiddle, Andrew Roitstein on bass, and Christopher White (of Gay for Feral) on guitar and voice, depending on where I am.

  • Influences

    Luciano Berio, Charles Mingus, Pete Seeger, Billie Holiday, Betty Carter, Mississippi John Hurt, Utah Phillips, Thelonious Monk, Shirley Scott, Art Tatum, Charlie Parker, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Miles Davis Quintet, Ella Fitzgerald, Guiomar Novaes, Radu Lupu, Mitsuko Uchida, Nina Simone, Judy Grahn, Toni Morrison, Max Roach, Fats Waller, Blind Willie Johnson, Richie Havens, The Bad Plus, Saul Williams, Ken Kesey, James Joyce, Family Guy, the Brothers Quay, Greg Brown, Bessie Smith, Chris Howes, Chris White, Frank Hoier, Feral Foster, Chavela Vargas, Bobby Floyd.

  • Sounds Like

    Rhymes with Bruce "Willis."....For booking and to join the mailing list, email: stephanienilles@gmail.com .. ..

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