Album Review: Solo Sessions: Volume 1 by Brenda Earle Stokes
Album: Solo Sessions: Volume 1
Artist: Brenda Earle Stokes
Label: Allsheneeds Music
Website: https://brendaearle.com
Blues singer Brenda Earle Stokes shines brilliantly on her newest recording Solo Sessions: Volume 1. The collection consists of a handful of jazz standards alongside original material and compositions seldomly heard penned by George Shearing and Steve Swallow. Showcasing her talents as a singer, songwriter and pianist, Stokes demonstrates an affection for intimate lyrics shrouded in a torchlight glow.
Her vocal stance is tall and proud in "Standing" as her keys twinkle stoutly, moving in a lyrical phrasing. Many a times, Stokes's vocal delivery gives the impression that she is having a conversation with the listener like in "Weaver of Dreams." She basks the listener in a cheerful mood as she flirtatiously incites, "You with your come hither smile / just to hear you speak just leaves me weak as a babe in arms / poor little babe in arms helpless to all of your charms / You're a weaver of dreams...I'm in love with you."
Sparse and suave, Stokes sings with the grace of a nightingale and plays the piano with an intuitive nature that makes the melodic patterns flow easily as though she was born knowing these notes, knowing how to shape them and move them through the air. Her treatment of "The Consequences of Falling," written by Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo, Rick Nowels, Jr, Billy Steinberg, strikes a universal chord that crosses over man-made barriers, touching anyone with a human soul.
Pensive while finessing a vibrant boldness in her rendition of "I Can Let Go Now" by Michael McDonald, the poetic versing once again touches the human soul as her vocals graze softly along the melodic progressions. Her re-imagination of the popular Huey Lewis and the News song "The Power of Love" demonstrates her ability to change a melody that is perfect in its original form and give it a new life with her honeyed tweaking.
Produced and arranged by Stokes, the recording displays her versatility as a persuasive singer able to pull on the listener's heart strings and equally able to flirt charmingly and intimately with her audience. She is also equally active in educating aspiring musicians, having created programs for the Midori and Friends Foundation, and holding a ten-year residency at the Ronald McDonald house. She is an active member of WIJO (Women in Jazz Organization), encouraging women to contribute to the jazz community, and contribute to the jazz milieu she has with her latest release.
Artist: Brenda Earle Stokes
Label: Allsheneeds Music
Website: https://brendaearle.com
Blues singer Brenda Earle Stokes shines brilliantly on her newest recording Solo Sessions: Volume 1. The collection consists of a handful of jazz standards alongside original material and compositions seldomly heard penned by George Shearing and Steve Swallow. Showcasing her talents as a singer, songwriter and pianist, Stokes demonstrates an affection for intimate lyrics shrouded in a torchlight glow.
Sparse and suave, Stokes sings with the grace of a nightingale and plays the piano with an intuitive nature that makes the melodic patterns flow easily as though she was born knowing these notes, knowing how to shape them and move them through the air. Her treatment of "The Consequences of Falling," written by Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo, Rick Nowels, Jr, Billy Steinberg, strikes a universal chord that crosses over man-made barriers, touching anyone with a human soul.
Pensive while finessing a vibrant boldness in her rendition of "I Can Let Go Now" by Michael McDonald, the poetic versing once again touches the human soul as her vocals graze softly along the melodic progressions. Her re-imagination of the popular Huey Lewis and the News song "The Power of Love" demonstrates her ability to change a melody that is perfect in its original form and give it a new life with her honeyed tweaking.
Produced and arranged by Stokes, the recording displays her versatility as a persuasive singer able to pull on the listener's heart strings and equally able to flirt charmingly and intimately with her audience. She is also equally active in educating aspiring musicians, having created programs for the Midori and Friends Foundation, and holding a ten-year residency at the Ronald McDonald house. She is an active member of WIJO (Women in Jazz Organization), encouraging women to contribute to the jazz community, and contribute to the jazz milieu she has with her latest release.
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