Tawanda - Smile [CD]

Resonance Records

£15.03

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: RCD-1039A
Barcode: 0617270122891
Release Date: 11 Nov 2022
Genre: Jazz

 Acclaimed jazz label Resonance Records issue the first album by one of the most promising young jazz singers to emerge in years: Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim, known simply as Tawanda. The Los Angeles-based vocalist, 26, sings in a cloudless alto with a crystalline shimmer, effortless but unfussy jazz feeling, immaculate musicianship, and a maturity that few of her contemporaries possess.
 In June of 2021, Tawanda tied for first place with Gabrielle Cavassa in the 9th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, held in Newark, New Jersey. (The competition was originally slated to be held in 2020 but delayed due to COVID. The winner of the 10th annual competition was also announced in 2021). Her performance - judged by a panel that included singers Carmen Lundy and Vanessa Rubin and bassist Christian McBride - was all the more impressive given that Tawanda had performed her first full show just a year before.
 ‘Smile’ was produced by Resonance founder and president George Klabin. Resonance are renowned both for their deluxe reissues of previously unreleased gems by Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, and other greats; and for their new recordings by an impeccably chosen array of veterans and newcomers.
 On ‘Smile’, Tawanda gives even the most time-honored standards a freshness that makes them sound new. She also finds the jazz in tunes recorded by Sting (‘Sister Moon’), Donny Hathaway (‘Sack Full of Dreams’), and Maureen McGovern (‘Bring Back My Dreamer’). Lifting her even higher are the elegant piano-playing and arrangements of two members of the Resonance family, Tamir Hendelman and Josh Nelson, both of whom have brought out the best in many a singer.
 Singing is her contribution: “I’m always happily surprised when friends come to my shows and say, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know about jazz, and this was beautiful.” ‘Smile’ completes the first chapter in the story of an artist whose work is easy to love.
 Includes an 8-page booklet with essays by esteemed author James Gavin and producer George Klabin.

Tracklisting
Smile/I'm All Smiles
Out of This World
Bridges
Sister Moon
What a Little Moonlight Can Do
I'm Okay
A Child is Born
Lucky to Be Me
Sack Full of Dreams
Bring Back my Dreamer
You And the Night and the Music
Smile - Outro (A Cappella)