Year: 2005
Record Label: Apria Records
Style:
Jazz Vocals
Musicians: Veronica Martell (vocals); Kenny Rampton (trumpet); Bob Shepard (tenor & soprano saxophone); David Mann (saxophones); Gary Valente, Bob Magnusson, Bob Hanlon (horns); Ted Brancato, Allen Farnham, Matt King (piano); Tony Viscardo, Herman Romero, Romero Lubambo (guitar); Cliff Schmitt, Jeff Carney, Nilson Matta (bass); Buddy Williams, Tim Horner (drums); Emedin Rivera, Frank Valdes, Eduardo DaFonseca (percussion); Joyce Hammann, Laura Seaton, Carol Pool, Richard Locker (strings)
Tracks: Dreams, Without Within, Blind, Better With Time, Sometimes I Wonder Why, Love Don’t Pay The Bills, So Different Now, Eleven Seventeenth, Wayfaring Stranger, Why Do People Fall In Love
Artist's Website: http://www.veronicamartell.com
Read Review(s):
Featured at Smoothjazz.com
/ Featured at Sounds of Timeless Jazz
Listen to track(s):
Dreams
/ Better with Time
/ Blind
Purchase CD:
At Amazon
Biography: With the release of Art of Intimacy on June 7, 2005, Veronica Martell is finally poised to bring her exquisite vocal stylings to American mainstream audiences - confirming what international audiences have known for years - Martell is “. . . a great voice that instantly catches you and keeps you beside the loud speakers,” as declared by Jyllands-Posten (Denmark’s largest newspaper).
Though she grew up listening to the pop music of the 70’s and 80’s, Martell was influenced by traditional greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Sarah Vaughn and Nancy Wilson. Yet, modern singers such as Patti LaBelle, James Taylor and Anita Baker remained a staple of her vocal studies. In turn, her own writing and composition style would grow to embrace a mix of genres that would lead to work with TNN’s Nashville Network, off-Broadway productions, television, radio and movie soundtrack recordings.
For several years, Martell remained a fixture on the New York nightclub scene before releasing her first CD in fall of 1999, Big City Swing. This neo-swing recording led to an international tour to Denmark that included a critically acclaimed performance at the Copenhagen Blues Festival and an appearance on Good Morning Denmark in 2002.
Big City Swing won the adoration of internet audiences as well. Martell was chosen for the special segment, “Women of MP3.com,” which highlighted the careers of successful entrepreneurs in independent music.
Her eagerly awaited second release, Lucky, arrived in 2002 and soon made its way up the charts of worldwide jazz radio with the track, “Romancing the Blues” repeatedly hitting the top 100 countdowns in 2002. After touring extensively in Scandinavia, her 2002 European Tour would include performances at the Tuno Jazz Festival and the world-renowned Copenhagen Jazz Festival in Tivoli Gardens.
In 2003, Veronica’s single, “Too Young for the Blues,” was featured on the compilation album Jazz – In Celebration of Life that included tracks by Tony Bennett, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughn and Charlie Parker among others. More recently, Martell teamed up with Kevin Mahogany in his chart-topping Big Band (2004) for what the Jazz Times playfully referred to as a “sinfully dusky” duet on “It’s Alright With Me.”
Signing with Apria Records in 2004, Veronica Martell is set to release The Art of Intimacy, a daringly provocative collection of contemporary songs that includes the singles “Blind” and “Dreams,” a cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic.
“. . . a winning combination of traditional jazz entertainer stage presence and modern day wit and charisma.” – Ove Norhave, Nordjyske Stiftstidende (Danish daily news)
For more information on this artist, please visit www.apriarecords.com. To receive your copy of Art of Intimacy, to schedule an interview or for a complete appearance schedule, please contact Cheryl Hughey – Public Relations Director, Apria Records, at 314-429-3450 or cherylhughey@apriarecords.com.
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