Tune in to NBC Studio 10 today @12:30pm with Mario Hilario and Jazz Vocalist Shawnn Monteiro, to chat about her Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame 2024 Induction and upcoming plans to visit Europe to conduct her master classes once again.
Check Out Shawnn Monteiro Latest Albums: https://whalingcitysound.com/?s=shawnn
For Upcoming Shows: https://shawnnmonteiro.com/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Inaugural Jazz Music Awards to Bestow Special Honors to Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Ambrose Akinmusire, Henry Threadgill, Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds, and James H. Patterson
The Awards Ceremony to Highlight Eight Award Categories with 33 Nominees including Jean & Marcus Baylor Leading with Three Nominations, along with Orrin Evans, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, Brian Culbertson, and Brandee Younger
Each Leading with Two Nominations
Other Nominees Include The Count Basie Orchestra, Brian Bromberg, Joey DeFrancesco, Jazzmeia Horn, Samara Joy, Somi, Stacey Kent, Shawnn Monteiro, Ben Tankard, Lindsey Webster, and More
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ledisi, Lizz Wright, and Jazzmeia Horn Set to Perform, Tickets On Sale Now
(Atlanta, GA – August 25, 2022) – The global awards ceremony to exclusively celebrate Jazz music, The Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz, and its creator and executive producer, Wendy F. Williams today announce the recipients of six honorary awards and the nominees in eight competitive award categories. These special honors, as well as the thirty-three nominees, recognize individuals who have made – and continue to make – a lasting contribution to this American art form. Finalists in each category are the result of the first round of nominations submitted during the eligibility period from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. These well-deserved honors will be presented at the Jazz Music Awards ceremony, set for Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, GA. Tickets are on sale now, click here for further details.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will go to saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter; the Jazz Legend Award will be presented to the family of the late pianist and composer McCoy Tyner.
Modern jazz trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire will receive the Jazz Innovator Award; avant-garde saxophonist and woodwinds player and composer Henry Threadgill will be honored with the Jazz Composer Award; vocalist and composer, Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds will receive the Jazz Educator Award; and veteran musician and educator James H. Patterson will receive the Jazz Impact Award.
Educator.
There are three Awards of Distinction categories: Innovator, Composer, and
Also, the final four nominees have been announced in eight competitive categories; a tie in the Best Duo, Group, or Big Band category resulted in five nominees,
Four-time Grammy Award-nominated artists Jean & Marcus Baylor, also known as The Baylor Project received three nominations for their release, Generations; along with Orrin Evans with two nominations for The Magic of Now and EEE (Eubanks-Evans-Experience) with well-known TV personality Kevin Eubanks; 2023 NEA Jazz Master and Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett with two nominations for Sounds From The Ancestors; eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist Christian McBride with two nominations with his band Inside Straight for Live at the Village Vanguard; acclaimed jazz harpist Brandee Younger with two nominations for Somewhere Different; and contemporary jazz keyboardist Brian Culbertson with two nominations for The Trilogy Red.
Also nominated are acclaimed jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn with Her Noble Force (Best Duo, Group, or Big Band); veteran organ master Joey DeFrancesco (Best Mainstream Artist); chart-topping contemporary flutist Ragan Whiteside (Best Contemporary Artist); contemporary jazz keyboardist and producer Bob Baldwin (Best Contemporary Album); multi-instrumentalist and producer Ben Tankard, best known as “the godfather of gospel/jazz” (Best Contemporary Artist); and veteran smooth jazz guitarist Norman Brown (Song of the Year).
Other nominees in the contemporary jazz categories include popular bassist and producer Brian Bromberg (Best Contemporary Artist); jazz/pop vocalist Lindsey Webster (Best Contemporary Artist); master drummer Sonny Emory (Best Contemporary Album); Jazz educator and vocalist Shawnn Monteiro (Best Vocal Performance); multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Mark Hasselbach (Best Contemporary Album); and the Count Basie Orchestra, under the direction of Scotty Barnhart (Best Duo, Group or Big Band).
The Jazz Music Awards nominations also recognize a diverse array of burgeoning artists, including French vibraphonist Simon Moullier (Best New Jazz Artist); Grammy-nominated Jazz vocalist Stacey Kent (Best Vocal Performance); Kazemde George, Brooklyn-based saxophonist, composer and beatmaker (Best New Artist); Julieta Engenio, Argentine-born tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (Best New Artist); neo-traditionalist Samara Joy (Best New Artist); acclaimed Rwandan-Ugandan jazz singer and playwright Somi (Best Vocal Performance); South African-born teen multi-instrumentalist Justin-Lee Schultz (Song of the Year); and Alabama-based drummer/producer James “PJ” Spraggins (Song of the Year).
“We are honored to recognize and present a wide range of dynamic and innovative artists including our six award honorees and our thirty-three nominees. I am still amazed that in 2022, a dedicated global Jazz award show in North America has never been done at this level. I am thrilled that we can step into this space to honor and recognize musicians and the entire genre in this way. We are making history and we are just getting started,” says Wendy F. Williams, creator and executive producer of the Jazz Music Awards, as well as the General Manager of NPR-affiliate Jazz 91.9 WCLK. “Jazz music has been an essential part of the legacy
Artist category submissions did not meet the Jazz Music Awards submission criteria resulting
while the Best International
in this award being removed from the final ballot this year.
of Jazz 91.9 WCLK, which will be celebrating fifty years on the air in 2024, from its home on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta. By recognizing our honorees and nominees, we are giving thanks for their incredible artistry that furthers the richness of the Jazz tradition, which is integral to American music and culture.”
An added attraction during the Jazz Music Awards will be several live performances. These will include appearances by several acclaimed Jazz vocal talents: NEA Jazz Master and Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winning artists Dee Dee Bridgewater, Grammy Award-winning artist Ledisi, preeminent jazz/gospel/blues vocalist Lizz Wright, and four-time Grammy Award-nominated artist Jazzmeia Horn. All performances will be under the musical direction of NEA Jazz Master and three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and composer Terri Lyne Carrington, who serves as the musical director and co-executive producer for the inaugural ceremony.
“The Jazz Music Award is a necessary and important platform for the jazz community,” says Carrington, who is also the founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. “It’s vital that we spotlight and celebrate artists across all hybrids of Jazz, many of whom have been overlooked or unsung throughout their careers.”
The inaugural Jazz Music Awards will establish a new platform for recognizing the rich history, musical innovation, and vital artistry that continue to inform America’s truly original art form – Jazz Music. As an essential component of the vast tapestry that weaves together African Americans’ contributions to the arts, Jazz is the Culture of America. It is a unique sound and style that is beloved around the world.
For updates and information on the award ceremony, please visit jazzmusicawards.com.
ABOUT THE JAZZ MUSIC AWARDS
The Jazz Music Awards recognizes jazz as an American musical art form, birthed from the experience and innovation of African Americans, rooted in blues, ragtime, swing, bebop, and creative improvised music, including Latin jazz, mainstream, smooth, and other contemporary forms, or hybrids.
PR Contact:
Gwendolyn Quinn
Gwendolyn Quinn Public Relations
c/o The Jazz Music Awards GwendolynQuinn@aol.com gwendolyn.quinn@jazzmusicawards.com
917-769-7808
The Jazz Music Awards and its creators recognize and amplify Jazz as a vibrant cornerstone of
all American music that has profoundly influenced American language, style, traditions, and
sounds, producing heroes and cultural phenomena. The Jazz Music Awards is a nonprofit
division of Jazz 91.9 WCLK at Clark Atlanta University, the Historically Black College and
University, owner and licensee of WCLK.
The Lifetime Achievement Award
Award of Distinction – Jazz Innovator Award Award of Distinction – Jazz Composer Award Award of Distinction – Jazz Educator Award The Jazz Legend Award
The Jazz Impact Award
Best Mainstream Artist
Joey DeFrancesco
Kenny Garrett
Christian McBride & Inside Straight Brandee Younger
Best Contemporary Artist
Brian Bromberg Ben Tankard Lindsey Webster Ragan Whiteside
Wayne Shorter
Ambrose Akinmusire
Henry Threadgill
Dr. Lenora Z Helm Hammonds McCoy Tyner
James H. Patterson
More Music
Sounds From The Ancestors Live at the Village Vanguard Somewhere Different
A Little Driving Music SHINE!
“I Didn’t Mean It” (single title) “Off the Cuff” (single title)
Best Duo, Group, or Big Band (a tie in this category)
The Baylor Project
Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force Christian McBride & Inside Straight Count Basie Orchestra
Kevin Eubanks and Orrin Evans
Best New Jazz Artist
Simon Moullier Julieta Engenio Kazemde George Samara Joy
Best Vocal Performance
The Baylor Project Somi
Stacey Kent Shawnn Monteiro
Best Mainstream Album
The Baylor Project Orrin Evans Kenny Garrett Brandee Younger
Generations
Dear Love
Live At the Village Vanguard
Live At Birdland
(under the direction of Scotty Barnhart) EEE (Eubanks-Evans-Experience)
Countdown Jump
I Insist Samara Joy
Generations
Dreaming Zenzile
Songs From Other Places You Are There
Generations
The Magic of Now
Sounds From The Ancestors Somewhere Different
The Jazz Music Awards 2022
Honorees and Nominees
Best Contemporary Album
Bob Baldwin
Brian Culbertson
Sonny Emory
Gabriel Mark Hasselbach
Song of the Year (Fan Vote)
Norman Brown
Brian Culbertson Justin-Lee Schultz James “PJ” Spraggins
Number of Nominations by Artist(s)
The Baylor Project (three nominations) Orrin Evans (two nominations)
Kenny Garrett (two nominations) Brian Culbertson (two nominations) Christian McBride (two nominations) Brandee Younger (two nominations) Bob Baldwin (one nomination)
Count Basie Orchestra (one nomination) Brian Bromberg (one nomination) Norman Brown (one nomination)
Joey DeFrancesco (one nomination) Sonny Emory (one nomination)
Julieta Engenio (one nomination)
Kevin Eubanks & Orrin Evans (one nomination) Kazemde George (one nomination)
Gabriel Mark Hasselbach (one nomination) Jazzmeia Horn (one nomination)
Samara Joy (one nomination)
Stacey Kent (one nomination)
Shawnn Monteiro (one nomination)
Simon Moullier (one nomination)
Justin-Lee Schultz (one nomination)
Somi (one nomination)
James “PJ” Spraggins (one nomination)
Ben Tankard (one nomination)
Lindsey Webster (one nomination)
Ragan Whiteside (one nomination)
The Stay at Home Series, Volume 1 The Trilogy Red
Soul Ascension
Tongue & Groove
“Back At Ya” (single) “Feel the Love” (single) “Gruv Kid” (single)
“Up From Here” (single)
It is with deep shock and sadness that we report the unexpected passing of Debra Mann, an acclaimed and supremely talented jazz singer, pianist and composer on our Whaling City Sound label. Her most recent recording, Full Circle, featuring the music of Joni Mitchell, was released in August 2018. She had also released three CD recordings on her label, Jobe Records.
Her career was decorated with highlights. A Berklee grad, Debra was widely hailed as Rhode Island’s premier jazz pianist and vocalist. She performed at Symphony Hall in Boston as a featured guest soloist with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra. She had the distinct honor of performing at the request of Frank Sinatra. In celebration of Women’s History Month, she performed with her trio on Ron Dellachiesa’s WGBH radio program “Music America.” She was a prized member of the regional jazz community, having shared the stage with artists including Dick Johnson, Herb Pomeroy, Gray Sargent, Marshall Wood, Ted Casher, Jeff Stout, Ed Saindon, and many others. Dino Govoni, Jay Azzolina, Dave Zinno, Marty Richards, Jerry Leake, and Paul Angel joined her on our Full Circle release.She was also a passionate educator, on the faculty of Brown University and Wheaton College.
We at Whaling City Sound, along with the music community, will miss Debra’s extraordinary and elegant musical voice. We mourn deeply her passing and extend our sympathy to her family and friends.For more information see
Click above for link to pre-order on Amazon
For more information on Dori click here
Everybody Wants To Rule The World
VimeoPublicity: Regional Highlights Cadence/Papatumas, Improvijazzation Nation, Jazz Weekly, JAZZIZ Magazine, DOWNBEAT Editors’ Picks, DOWNBEAT, JazzTimes, Jazz Quad (translated from Russian)
Radio Promotion by New World n Jazz
Retail:
Mixed Media Client since: 2016
Joe Lang Birdland Review
KRISTEN LEE SERGEANT has been gigging around the New York City area for several years, developing her jazz vocal chops. Inside/Out (Whaling City Sound – 087) is her first album, and from the evidence here, she was certainly ready to spread her talent to a wider audience. With backing from David Budway on piano, Chris Berger on piano and Victor Ector on drums, she sings six standards, “Never Will I Marry,” “Old Devil Moon,” “Lullaby of the Leaves,” “So Many Stars” “I Wish I Were in Love Again” and “It Never Entered My Mind.” Like so many younger singers, she grew up listening to the pop music of her generation, and has chosen to include some material from more contemporary sources to her repertoire. In this instance, she selected hits by Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” the Police, “Every Breath You Take,” and Modern English, “I Melt with You,” to fill out her program. Perhaps it is a generational thing, but these songs just do not hold up well next to the older songs, but Sergeant does a fine job of bringing them into a jazz context. The lady can sing, and there should be more fine albums like this one coming from her down the road.
Some vocalists aspire to be jazz singers. Others claim the mantle but fall short. The lucky few, like Kristen Lee Sergeant, meet the challenge and merit the title.
Inside Out displays Sergeant’s qualifications – her superior intonation and control, an interpretive command that ranges from defiance to gentility, a willingness to take risks with harmony and rhythm, the freshness of her arrangements, synchronicity with her accompanists, and the manner in which all these elements yield a supremely musical package. She has refined these skills over the past decade, and her woodshedding period has yielded an imposing debut album.
Sergeant grew up in Manchester-by-the-Sea, a suburb on Boston’s North Shore that she is quick to point out is the home of Singing Beach. During her high school and college years, she was focused on theater and classical singing, and when she moved to New York after graduating from Brandeis University her intent was to pursue a theatrical career and study opera. Then her roommate suggested that Sergeant check out cabaret legend Marilyn Maye, and a new fascination took hold. “I had listened to cabaret and jazz a bit, but hadn’t really been exposed,” Sergeant recalls. “Seeing Marilyn perform convinced me that there was a more intimate way of reaching an audience.“ Sergeant has become a student of Maye’s. “Marilyn reminds me to celebrate the beauty in my instrument.”
Sergeant also found herself immersed in jazz after the leader of a big band heard her rehearsing bel canto in a practice studio and invited her to sit in. Soon she was a permanent member of the ensemble, which only added to her growing sense of the music. “I was able to observe how the soloists were trying to discover something,” she explains, “which taught me to embrace the process of improvisation. The band played a lot of transcribed solos from Art Blakey records, and just singing along was a great education in itself.”
Hearing Maye and working with the big band led Sergeant to reconsider her musical priorities. “I saw that technique is a double-edged sword,” she says. “Classical training can make you more adept, but it can also be a shield, as if being able to do all of the tricks puts you beyond criticism. And there’s stuff you miss in more traditional vocal study, particularly in the area of rhythm. I began to realize that as a student I had reached a peak, only to discover that I could see a higher summit.”
Another key moment in Sergeant’s development was encountering a Carmen McRae video from the 1960s television series Jazz Casual. “Carmen’s incredible commitment to the lyrics, together with her complete musicality, made me realize that such things were possible. Around that time, a theatrical project I had been involved in for quite a while got a New York tryout on a night that I had a jazz gig. I realized that I had undergone a transition and missed the tryout.”
Studies with vocalist/pianist Tom Lellis put the finishing touches on Sergeant’s jazz apprenticeship. “Tom is a great teacher,” she confirms, “and he was particularly helpful in my approach to rhythm. Hard bop is my favorite listening music, which may seem like an odd choice for a singer, but Tom helped me apply the colors of hard bop to my approach. And he made me realize that, in jazz, vibrato is a choice rather than an essential. Most importantly, I learned that while I may be as deliberate as need be when I practice, what comes out when I perform has to relate more to instinct. When I’m into a song, the chances I take are all instinctual. And the meaning of each tune is my window into improvisation. If what I’m trying to do is not based in a deep well of feeling, it’s not going to happen.”
Sergeant has put her philosophy into practice in this debut program, which places her individual stamp on a half-dozen consensus standards plus three additional hits from the ‘80s. She explains the presence of the latter by noting that “I chose `Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ and `Every Breath You Take’ because these songs are in the back of all of our minds. We hear them at Whole Foods, or in malls, or wherever we find ourselves wandering around; yet they aren’t sacred cows, so they are approachable for rearrangement. I took that freedom,” she jokes, “and abused it.” “I Melt with You,” the Modern English hit, is less familiar than the Tears for Fears and Police tunes, yet provided the kind of open meaning that Sergeant finds inspiring. “Thinking about melting led me to the messy intro,” she explains, “and then thinking more about melting led to the spoken word statement that alludes to both personal attraction and nuclear war.”
The rest of the program is personalized as well, with such memorable touches as her half-time statement against the rhythm section at the start of “Old Devil Moon,” the Monkish setting of “I Wish I Were in Love Again” and the straightforward wonder of “So Many Stars.” As the tracks were being recorded, producer Suzi Reynolds pointed out that Sergeant had created a song cycle, one that began with the power of “Never Will I Marry” and ultimately looped back to another form of never. “All of these songs mean something to me,” Sergeant confirms, “and the musical vocabulary of jazz allowed me to reinvent. `It Never Entered My Mind’ is so personal that I can’t listen to it. It’s the sucker punch at the end of our visit to all of these rapturous places.”
Sergeant is quick to share the credit with her rhythm section, which is comprised of players who, in her words, “can say what they need to say explosively.” She has a history of playing with pianist David Budway and bassist Chris Berger; and while many of her gigs do not allow for drummers, she found Vince Ector “a treat to work with.” She shares this writer’s appreciation of Budway’s contribution, both as a member of the trio and, on the closing two tracks, as the sole accompanist. “I’ve done gigs with David almost as long as I’ve been in New York. He’s such a versatile musician that he’s even done classical things with me. David has an endless imagination. You can work with great accompanists and great soloists, but only a few can do both. David is one of the few.”
What has resulted on Inside Out is nothing less than a confirmation of Kristen Lee Sergeant’s embrace of the jazz aesthetic. “Jazz is about bringing something new to what may be familiar material,” she insists. “The art form doesn’t need you if you’re not seeking a new way. Unlike my work in theater, it’s about what I want to say, what I can bring that no one else can bring. And while my training with a big band was invaluable, your own improvising is limited because this massive machine surrounds you. The trio gave me more opportunity to play off what everyone else is doing, which is another thing that I love about jazz. It allowed me to follow Suzi’s advice to `seize the musical moment.’”
Consider the moment seized.
Bob Blumenthal
Track Listing & Publishing Info
1 Never Will I Marry 3:32
(Frank Loesser, rearranged by Kristen Lee Sergeant) MPL Music Publishing Inc. OBO Frank Music Corp.
2 Everybody Wants to Rule the World 4:06
(Orzabal, Stanley, Hughes, rearranged by Kristen Lee Sergeant) Platinum Songs OBO Amusements LTD, Rights Management Rosetta VM PKA Virgin Songs, BMG
3 Old Devil Moon 4:28
(Burton Lane & E.Y. Harburg) Chappell & Co. Shapiro Bernstein OBO Glocca MorraMusic
4 Lullaby of the Leaves 3:38
(Joe Young & Bernice Petkere) Bourne Co. Cherio
5 I Melt With You 5:44
(Richard Ian Brown, Stephen James Walker, Robert James Grey, Michael Frances Conroy, Gary Frances Mcdowell, Dalton Dieh, rearranged by Kristen Lee Sergeant) Universal – Songs of Polyg OBO Universal/Momentum Music 3 LTD
6 So Many Stars 4:02
(Sergio Mendez, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman) WB Music Corp Spirit Two Music OBO Spirit Services Holdings, SARL
7 Every Breath You Take 3:16
(Sting, rearranged by Kristen Lee Sergeant) EMI Blackwood Music Inc. OBO Magnetic Publishing LTD.
8 I Wish I Were In Love Again 2:06
(Lorenz Hart & Richard Rodgers) Chappell & Co., Williamson Music Co. – A Div. of Rodgers & Hammerstein ©1937
9 It Never Entered My Mind 2:45
(Lorenz Hart & Richard Rodgers) Chappell & Co. Williamson Music Co.-A Div. of Rodgers & Hammerstein ©1940
Show Dates:
10.27: Kristen Lee Sergeant, Birdland Jazz Club, 315 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036
🎉Congratulations Aaliyah Fuentes on graduating at Johnson & Wales University! Wishing all the best as she gets ready to leave Mixed Media and graduate with a degree in Media & Communications!🎉
#gradseason🎓 #springintern2024 #mixedmedia
🎉Congratulations Aaliyah Fuentes on graduating at Johnson & Wales University! Wishing all the best as she gets ready to leave Mixed Media and graduate with a degree in Media & Communications!🎉
#Gradseason #Springintern2024 #mixedmedia
Johnson & Wales University Class of 2024 Spring Intern Aaliyah Fuentes! | Mixed Media Promotions
mixedmediapromo.com
Wishing #JWU’s 2024 Spring Intern Aaliyah Fuentes all the best as she gets ready to leave Mixed Media and graduate with a degree in Media & Communications! linkedin.com/in/aaliyah-fuentes02
Music industry consultant and publicist Ginny Shea has garnered international exposure for her clients through radio and video promotion, print media, and her vast industry network.
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