Denise Donatelli
Released September 11, 2012
Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album 2013
YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kYAL3aiDYfpzvsQTodL_Sp-c8sVaIra1s
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4DFyZevt6I3rmYMTcHWCvm?si=O6JWLrR3R1Wa4FnQsDAOpQ
About:
Los Angeles-based vocalist Denise Donatelli won a Grammy nomination with her second Savant CD, When Lights Are Low (Savant SCD 2109). An East Coast native and a recipient of classical piano training, she turned to singing jazz, wound up relocating to the West Coast and has pursued her performance and recording career ever since. Possessing a voice of exceptional nuance, agility and unerring pitch, Denise is able to imbue whatever she chooses to sing with her special warmth, wit and insight. Reuniting the Grammy-nominated duo of Denise and her Music Director / arranger / accompanist Geoffrey Keezer, Savant Records presents their latest collaboration. Together, with a pride of the best studio men on the West Coast, Denise offers a stunning program of un-hackneyed tunes by Peter Eldridge, Sting, Pomplamoose and others while Geoffrey Keezer provides the interesting arrangements and scoring that have come to be synonymous with a Denise Donatelli recording.
Track Listing:
1. All or Nothing at All (A. Altman / J. Lawrence) 5:12
2. No Better (J. Brooke) 6:11
3. Another Day (N. Dawn) 4:20
4. A Promise (Someplace Called Where) (D. Reeves / Wayne Shorter) 4:45
5. Soul Shadows (J. Sample) 5:29
6. Ocean 4:26
7. Postcards and Messages 5:52
8. When I Looked Again (Christian McBride / Sting) 3:41
9. Ange (S. Allyson / D. Brown) 4:17
10. Too Late Now (B. Lane / Alan Jay Lerner) 5:54
Personnel:
Denise Donatelli: vocals
Geoffrey Keezer: piano
Ramon Stagnaro: acoustic guitar (1)
Carlos del Puerto: bass (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Susan Wulff: double bass (4, 7)
Carlos del Puerto: electric bass (4)
Peter Sprague: electric guitar (1), guitar (2-6, 8, 9)
Alex Acuña: percussion (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Nicholas Stoup: percussion (1, 7)
Walter Rodriguez: percussion (2, 5-8)
Tim Garland: sopranos saxophone (4)
Andy Martin: trombone (9)
Steve Huffsteter: trumpet (5)
Giovanna Clayton: cello (4, 7, 8)
Alma Lisa Fermandez: viola (4, 7, 9)
Matt Funes: viola (4, 7)
Sarah Thornblade: violin (4, 7)
Songa Lee: violin (4, 7)
Yutaka Yokokura: backing vocals (5, 9)
Peter Eldridge: vocals (7)
Recorded at Firehouse Recording Studios, Pasadena, CA; Garland Recording Studio, London, England; Sean Swinney Recording, New York, NY; TriTone Recording Studios, Glendale, CA; Visual Rhythm Recording Studios, Alhambra, CA
Executive producers: Robbie Davis and Denise Donatelli
Produced by Geoffrey Keezer and Carlos Y. del Rosario
Arrangements by Geoffrey Keezer
Vocal arrangement of “Postcard and Messages” by Peter Eldridge
Mixed, edited and masteres by Carlos Y. del Rosario
Photography by Lori Stoll
Review:
A late bloomer due to her focusing on parenthood and an earlier career with CNN, vocalist Denise Donatelli has continued to develop with a depth of feeling and a broad musical palette open to exploring many styles of jazz. Her fourth CD (and third for Savant) finds her again with pianist/music director Geoff Keezer and guitarist Peter Sprague, with a supporting cast that varies from track to track. Donatelli puts a new twist on the standard “All or Nothing at All,” buoyed by Keezer’s catchy, Afro-Peruvian arrangement, and potent solos by Keezer and acoustic guitarist Ramon Stagnaro. The other standard, “Too Late Now,” is a lush duet by Donatelli with Keezer as her sole accompanist, where the vocalist’s adept phrasing and use of space conveys its lyric perfectly. Two songs were penned by jazz veterans. The scoring of Wayne Shorter’s “A Promise (Someplace Called Where)” (with a lyric by Dianne Reeves) utilizes strings and soprano saxophonist Tim Garland to provide an intricate backing for the singer. Donald Brown’s “Ange” is a demanding, Brazilian-flavored work which Donatelli performs flawlessly as if it had long been part of her repertoire. From there, Donatelli expands her scope to contemporary jazz, pop, and works by singer/songwriters. She shows her playful side in the light-hearted “Another Day,” scatting along with Sprague’s guitar, followed by Keezer’s spry solo, and takes flight in her hip, Brazilian-tinged rendition of Joe Sample’s “Soul Shadows.” Donatelli captures the essence of “When I Looked Again,” a collaborative effort by Christian McBride and Sting that was recorded by them but unissued, with effective overdubbed harmony vocals judiciously used in Keezer’s arrangement. With so many jazz vocalists competing for attention, Denise Donatelli easily stands out from the pack with her versatile, creative repertoire and strong voice.
Ken Dryden (Allmusic)
