Brightside Reviewz: EUGENIE JONES

Watch our Interview and her appearance on our show Video 1: Interview https://youtu.be/7htwDS94Qw4?si=7wcdaqYd7hXgYwYi Video 2: At the Brightside Club On Zoom https://youtu.be/8Y0fEZjMu8w?si=Fq6Vv2HXyOA1ZhCd 

EUGENIE JONES UNVEILS SELF-TITLED ALBUM - A GROOVE-INFUSED JOURNEY INTO PASSION, BETRAYAL, AND REVENGE ON JANUARY 20, 2025

Seattle-based singer, songwriter, and jazz legacy activist Eugenie Jones will release her highly anticipated album, EUGENIE, on January 20. Throughout her ten-year career Jones has become known for her smooth, powerful, satin vocal style and her intelligent, insightful songwriting, earning her comparisons to legendary songwriters Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone. *EUGENIE*, follows five highly acclaimed albums, including the #7 Jazz Week Top 50 hit *PLAYERS*, which featured renowned artists such as Reggie Workman and Bobby Sanabria

Following suit, EUGENIE – an exquisite, soulful, straight-ahead release with masterful instrumentation, beautiful string arrangements, rich melodies, and captivating narratives – is creating quite a buzz among music critics. "Highly recommended," "impeccable phrasing and delightful," "soaring vocals," "emotive and enthralling," "captivating," and "instrumentally lustrous" are only a few of the encomium compliments the project has already received.

The New York City Jazz Record's music critic Anna Steegmann wrote, "This album is a winner... Each track will get under your skin, make you want to get up and dance, feel empowered, or experience beauty in sadness: one thing it will not do is leave you indifferent."

Produced by bassist Lonnie Plaxico, sixteen musicians contributed to the bi-coastal recording. The New York recordings feature pianists Brandon McCune and Mamiko Watanabe; saxophonist Rico Jones; trumpeter Gil DefayJessica Wang on cello; violinist Yoojin ParkPlaxico on bass, Russell Carter on drums, and percussionist Kahlil Bell. The Seattle recording session includes pianists Darrius Willrich and Peter Adams; guitarist Michael Powers; saxophonist Alex Dugdale; bassists Elliot Kuykendall and Chris Symer; drummer Ronnie Bishop and Ernesto Pediangco on percussion. These talented musicians brought their unique style and expertise to the album, contributing to its rich sound and captivating narratives. 

The album showcasing the depth and breadth of Jones' talent is composed of 13 tracks. Six originals - (bringing her total published works to 32) range from swing, Latin, slow-burn ballads, and bluesy originals - and seven glistening contemporized classics initially recorded by Peggy LeeNat AdderleyNina SimonAretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye present a balanced array of sound and emotion.

The album opens with Jones's self-declarative "Why I Sing," with the compelling lyrics "DRIVE! DRIVE! DRIVE to wherever jazz lives," ratcheted up by the exuberantly musical lockstep of McCune on piano, Plaxico on bass, and Carter on drums.  

Originals, "Starlight Starbright" and "Nothing Better," buoyed to another realm by cellist Jessica Wang and violinist Yoojin Park, testify to Jones' ability to craft wondrous ballads with a sensuous vocal prowess that emphatically pulls listeners inside the throes of passion past, present, and yet to come.

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