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About Brenda

The "Lady in the 
Blue Dress..."

"brenda carol" Liner Notes

Brenda Carol Fact Sheet

Brenda Carol has been professionally singing for over sixteen years in Canada and the U.S.. Having studied privately for over 21 years in voice, guitar, piano and percussion, Carol shares this wealth of information with her private students. As a graduate of York University, Carol has performed and recorded with such Canadian jazz talents as Steve Wallace, Lorne Lofsky, Ted Quinlan, Stephen Crowe, Bill McBirnie, Kirk MacDonald, Ross Wooldridge, Daniel Barnes, and Stephen Gardner. Carol has also performed with many of Toronto's finest players such as Igor Romanyk, Art Avalos, Dave Langguth, Armando Borg, Orin Isaacs, Wilson Laurencin, Doug Watson, and Mark Kelso.  Carol is a founding member and lead vocalist of the Toronto-based group, ClaireVoyance, who have appeared at several regional, national and international music festivals. In 1998, Carol released her debut self-titled CD to critical acclaim. Most recently, Carol & ClaireVoyance released Live At HotHouse Cafe garnering "CD of the Week" at Jazzreview.com. In 2005, Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance performed four packed nights of, "Something's Coming - An Evening Of YES Music" as part of the TD Canada Trust Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival.

As an educator and clinician for over thirteen years, Carol has worked with groups at the TD Canada Trust Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival and the DuMaurier Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, the Toronto District School Board, private ensembles, independent recording artists, and label represented artists. Carol is currently a private vocal instructor in Toronto, ON Canada and a performing/recording artist. Brenda Carol is listed in the World Who's Who in Jazz, Cabaret, Music and Entertainment, Vol. 1, Showbiz, Pioneers - Best Singers, Musicians, and Entertainers from 1606 to the present, [published by the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and Performing Artists (FAMSPA)].

Brenda Carol is active in the Toronto music scene, teaching privately, playing at local restaurants and clubs, performing private and corporate functions, studio session work, and regular radio and television appearances. Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance are members of the Toronto Musicians Association (T.M.A.) and Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians (A.F. of M.). Brenda Carol and ClaireVoyance are on regular play list at JAZZ.FM91 and CBC RADIO. You can request her songs at these stations. If you know of more programs that could be playing Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance, please let them know.

Brenda Carol will be performing her 12th year live at HotHouse Cafe, 35 Church Street, as part of the TD Canada Trust Jazz Festival 2008. Sunday, June 22 - Wednesday, June 25, 2008. tour page

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Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance  The "Lady in the Blue Dress" is now wearing Red!

They say the ladies who sing the jazz songs are each as unique as a single flower – women who give jazz music conscience, imagination and a full portion of feminine sex appeal. Singer/songwriter Brenda Carol is no stranger to these qualities, pouring her considerable energies into her second album, "Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance – Live At HotHouse Cafe". This is Brenda’s newest release in almost two years, coming after her critically acclaimed self-titled debut CD, whose vintage-style cover led Brenda to be affectionately dubbed, "The Lady in the Blue Dress".

"I love to write lyrical songs and stories," says Brenda Carol. "Songwriting is my ultimate calling. Performance and practice is how I connect to the music. I like to breathe life into a song and give it its own personality and sound." This focus pays off on "Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance – Live at HotHouse Cafe", with each track, brought back to its original essence, re-thought and re-arranged to create an album as warm and personal as a long, lazy summer day. Brenda and her band ClaireVoyance bring freshness to classic tunes such as, "Willow Weep For Me", "A Sleeping Bee", "What Is This Thing Called Love," and Chick Corea’s breezy, "You’re Everything". Brenda writes new lyrics on a sultry version of "Little Sunflower", bringing out a feminine side to the Freddie Hubbard composition. Playing with the jazz idiom, Brenda and band take things to a new level of progressive exploration with versions of Chris Squire’s "Lucky 7", and Steven Stills’ "Everydays". Both tracks are standouts on a standout album. As Lee Prosser of the Jazz Review claims, "Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance equals Jazz Perfection in every way!"
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Brenda Carol was born in Sudbury, Canada, the younger of two children and was raised in Brantford, Ontario, where her Scottish stepfather, French-Canadian mother and half-sister still live. In her childhood, Brenda often grabbed a record and retreated to the solitude of her bedroom, singing and writing until the wee hours of the morning. "But I loved it! I grew up listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Annie Ross, Sarah Vaughn, and Frank Sinatra", she recalls. "We also listened to Elton John, Queen, Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, Yes, Heart, the Carpenters, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Joni Mitchell. The many different styles of music I was exposed to as a child not only influenced my vocal style, but even more so, my writing."  
At age eighteen, Brenda moved to Toronto to attend university and work the club scene. During these early years, she was a rock/folk vocalist in various musical constellations including The Moors and Cinderbloc Garden. Brenda also performed in various solo/jam settings in Toronto and surrounding area venues. At the same time, she wrapped up a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from York University.
  
 Her move away from the rock scene and into the jazz world was triggered by a series of events. In 1992, while auditioning a drummer for a progressive band she was forming, she met her sweetheart, pianist Stephen Gardner. A musical connection to jazz giant Joanne Brackeen awakened Brenda’s ears to the possibilities of performing and writing music as giving energy. A chance meeting with the "Father of bebop drumming" Max Roach, who suggested that she sing jazz, made her reconsider how she used her voice. Brenda continued to take vocal lessons to develop her singing and began writing her own kind of music.

The fruit of this downtime period of reassessment and study resulted in her forming co-own label, Darwyn Records, with her husband and pianist Stephen Gardner. In 1998, Brenda Carol released a self-titled debut album on her label. The album, an accessible road map to American jazz classics for a new generation of jazz listeners, received great reviews and continues to receive airplay. "This album was basically unproduced", says Stephen Gardner, "...with the musicians contributing their musical ideals through the performances."

In an interview with Lee Prosser of the Jazz Review, Brenda is described as "One of the finest contemporary singers of music composed by George Gershwin… [who seems]… destined to bring a new and wonderful sound to their music and era." Brenda reinterprets the standards featured on her debut album, bringing a fun-loving sense of humor to such titles as, "Old Devil Moon", "Bye Bye Blackbird", and "I’m Hip". In contrast, she proves herself a strong ballad singer with her performances of "You Must Believe in Spring", "Lush Life", and "The Man I Love."

Searching for new challenges after the debut CD led Brenda to the idea of recording a live album. "There was so much that I wanted to accomplish," she insists, "I couldn’t have done it all in studio - these songs and the audience make this album feel complete to me. Maybe it’s because I thrive on momentary chance. I just feel that every take in life should be important. There’s nothing like the sound of young jazz singers recorded live and I want to capture that young, fresh sound."

After a year of preparation, Brenda Carol and Stephen Gardner produced a live recording from their performances during the du Maurier Downtown Toronto Jazz festival. "Brenda Carol and ClaireVoyance - Live at HotHouse Cafe", released in the Fall of 2000 is the result of this effort.

So what’s next for Brenda Carol? An album of original compositions and a chance to connect to a whole new generation of jazz listeners. It’s irresistible listening and an opportunity to play with history.

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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Liner Notes from Brenda Carol's Independent CD:

"This is a wonderfully integrated group of musicians blending magically together and covering an expansive musical scope - from a blues, country and dixie sound - all the way up to the subtleties, harmonies and excitement jazz at the end of the millennium has to offer. 

Brenda Carol, with her bewitching, spellbinding interpretations of the ten jazz classics and standards, is the major focus of this CD. She refreshingly makes the lyrics of a tune become like seeds flowering into a new life, vision, vitality and dimension. Whether wistful or joyous, she relays the many moods of each song directly, powerfully, yet beautifully. The impact of her lovely voice will echo through you long after hearing her.

There are many other delights in the band as well. Stephen Gardner, the pianist, elegantly blends his talents with Brenda, sometimes playing very lyrically and relaxed, while other tunes delve into more mysterious abstract harmonies. The violinist, Igor Romanyk, is a complimentary surprise as a guest soloist with his soulful violinistics. Ted Quinlan on guitar is, at times, reminiscent of Wes Montgomery, while Lorne Lofsky has a modernistic approach. Daniel Barnes' interesting brushwork and delicately balanced cymbals make this well-knit unit flow along with the solid support of Steve Wallace on bass. 

This CD is an exotic musical treat not to be missed." 

written by Joanne Brackeen - Jazz Pianist/Educator

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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Brenda Carol Fact Sheet:

Artist Name: Brenda Carol

Birth Date: March 10

Birth Place: Sudbury, ON Canada

Grew Up In: Brantford, ON Canada

Place of residence: Toronto, ON Canada

Education: Bachelor of Arts, York University, Toronto, ON Canada

Life Member: Toronto Musicians Association (T.M.A.), Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians. (A.F. of M.)

2007 - Listed in the World Who's Who in Jazz, Cabaret, Music and Entertainment, Vol. 1, Showbiz, Pioneers - Best Singers, Musicians, and Entertainers from 1606 to the present, [published by the Federation of American Musicians, Singers and
Performing Artists (FAMSPA)]

Music Education: 21 years of private and formal study in vocal, piano, guitar, and tenor saxophone

Teaching Experience: 13 years of private vocal education in Toronto, Canada and Bonita Springs, FL USA

Musical Styles/Genres: vocal jazz, pop, prog, rock, blues and choir

Co-leader of the band(s): ClaireVoyance, Something's Coming (YES music),  Oui (duo), and the moors

Discography:

“Brenda Carol”, Darwyn Records, 1998 –BCCD1 - CD
Band Members and Instruments:
Brenda Carol: vocal
Stephen Gardner: piano
Ted Quinlan: guitar
Lorne Lofsky: guitar
Igor Romanyk: violin
Stephen Crowe: trumpet
Steve Wallace: bass
Daniel Barnes: drums
Art Avalos: percussion

Recorded and Mixed by: Phil Sheridan
Recording Dates: March 17^th & 18^th , 1998.
Studio: The Studio at Puck's Farm, Schomberg, ON Canada.
Mastering: Ed Marshall of Marshall Arts Productions.

"Live At HotHouse Cafe", Darwyn Records, 2000 - HHCD - CD
Band Members and Instruments:
Brenda Carol: vocal/percussion
Stephen Gardner: piano/vocals
Bill McBirnie: flute
Paul Mifsud: saxophone
William Sperandei: trumpet
Steve Wallace: bass
Daniel Barnes: drums

Recorded and Mixed by: Stephen Gardner/Bryant Diddier
Live Recording Dates: June 25 & 26, 2000.
Venue: HotHouse Cafe, Toronto, ON Canada.
Mastering: Mike Phelps

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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