©2008 Brenda Carol.

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Review of "Live At HotHouse Cafe"
Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance - Live at HotHouse Cafe

Much of the best music today is being made by people who are well grounded in one particular genre but who also have a broad awareness of many genres. Jazz musicians who also have roots in progressive rock, especially the music of Yes, seem a very unlikely prospect, but with vocalist Brenda Carol, pianist Stephen Gardner, and their group ClaireVoyance, this is what we have, and it works beautifully. Make no mistake, this is a "real" jazz group, using acoustic instruments (the rest of the group is filled out with woodwinds, trumpet, double-bass, and drums), and not playing fusion or any of that watered-down "cool" stuff. Live at HotHouse Cafe was recorded at the club of the same name, during the annual Toronto Jazz Festival. The group is conversant with the standard repertoire, tunes such as "Willow Weep for Me - MP3" and "What Is This Thing Called Love, - mp3" but new life is brought to this music by Gardner’s subtle arrangements and Brenda Carol’s uncomplicated singing.

Indeed, Carol’s voice is very much a breath of fresh air in the jazz world. When I say that her singing is uncomplicated, I don’t mean to say that there is anything simple about what she is doing--but, then, what I really mean is that the sort of simplicity that Carol often achieves is the hardest thing to find in any genre, but especially in jazz, where histrionics are often the norm. There is an economy, and a directness, to what Brenda does that is exceedingly rare, moreso every day.

Two of the pieces on the album that progressive rock aficionados will find amazing are the group’s renditions of "Everydays, - mp3" by Stephen Stills, and "Lucky Seven, - mp3" by Chris Squire. The former is better known to progressive rock fans from the version by Yes on their second album (Time and a Word), while the latter is from the first solo album, Fish Out of Water, by Yes bass guitarist Chris Squire. What a delight it is to hear these versions: they are filled with hope for the possibilities of music, in that they are not "covers" in the ordinary sense, but instead wonderful realizations of the power that is in these songs. The instrumental middle section of "Everydays," contains a completely magical moment, where what appears to be chaos becomes highly organized--and yet still somehow delicate. I especially love the snare and cymbal work here by drummer Daniel Barnes; the level of craft and care is tremendous. In "Lucky Seven," it is fascinating to hear Chris Squire’s choppy, trebly bass line, originally played on his signature Rickenbacker, produced instead by Steve Wallace’s throaty contrabass.

The group is completed by Bill McBirnie on flute, Paul Mifsud on saxophone, and William Sperandei on trumpet, all of them very fine players.

For me, the most lovely gem on this excellent album is the performance of Freddie Hubbard’s "Little Sunflower," I have loved this piece ever since first hearing it more than twenty years ago, and there are a number of very good versions of it. None, however, are better than this one by Brenda Carol and ClaireVoyance. Call me a sentimental sod, but Carol’s careful phrasing and the sweetness of the words bring tears to my eyes. Beyond beautiful, transcendental.

Bill Martin, associate professor of philosophy, DePaul University, Chicago author of Music of Yes and Listening to the future

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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Featured Artist: Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance

"Live At HotHouse Cafe" - Jazz Review's CD of the Week Nov. 12 - 19, 2000

CD Title: Live At HotHouse Cafe

Year: 2000

Record Label: Darwyn Records

Style: Jazz Vocals

Musicians: Brenda Carol, vocals. ClaireVoyance: Stephen Gardner, piano and backup vocals; Bill McBirnie, flute; Paul Mifsud, saxophone; William Sperandei, trumpet; Steve Wallace, bass; Daniel Barnes, drums. Recorded live at HotHouse Cafe, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during June 25 & 26, 2000 at the duMaurier Downtown Jazz Festival.

Review: It is not too often that jazz listeners get an opportunity to hear such a great live performance as is found on LIVE AT HOTHOUSE CAFE with jazz vocalist Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance! This CD is in a unique class all to itself, and the production values are excellent. LIVE AT HOTHOUSE CAFE is a winner in all ways! It deserves to reach a large listening audience.

The musicians that make up ClaireVoyance are in top form, and as always, it is nice to listen to the stylish, jazzy piano work of pianist Stephen Gardner. Bill McBirnie is, as always, the master of the flute and reveals his great playing gifts on these selections, along with the talents of William Sperandei on trumpet, Steve Wallace on bass, and Daniel Barnes on drums. This is one great crew of musicians backing the sensitive jazz vocals of Brenda Carol.

Once you hear this CD, it is sure to become a live performance favorite. Selections include Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love," "Everydays," "Willow Weep For Me," "Lucky Seven," "You're Everything," "A Sleepin' Bee," "Little Sunflower, "Hot House," a closing version of "What Is This Thing Called Love," and a Thank You. A very creative collection of songs and performances, sure to win new fans for Brenda Carol and ClaireVoyance!

An excellent live performance CD like LIVE AT HOTHOUSE CAFE doesn't come along too often, and this is your opportunity to sample some truly fine performances. The solo work is brilliant. And the solo work is memorable in its beautiful jazz interpretations! Alive, full of drive, attention to melody and note, and sensitivity mark each song performance! This CD is flawless, with everything as perfect as you would imagine and desire it to be in all aspects! The jazz performances succeed in all ways!

If you are looking for a perfect live performance that is alive with a sense of jazz expression, get a copy of Brenda Carol & ClaireVoyance on LIVE AT HOTHOUSE CAFE. Brenda Carol is one of the finest jazz vocalists singing today.

Brenda Carol knows how to sing the songs of Cole Porter, and sings so with conviction and emotion! Excellent! Five stars!

Listen: Real Audio Samples

Artist's Website: http://www.brendacarol.com

Reviewed by: Lee Prosser
www.jazzreview.com

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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beach metro Community News - January 25, 2000

Canada has produced some of the finest female jazz singers of this decade - vocalists like Diana Krall, Holly Cole, and Carol Welsman. Here in the Beach we have Lynn MacDonald and Emily Barlow. And to this list can be added Brenda Carol. With her debut, self-titled CD - backed by an excellent ensemble called ClaireVoyance - Carol has proven herself to be ready to take her place on this growing stage.

Originally from Sudbury, Carol came to Toronto to study at York University. But she's been singing since her teens, and this CD is her way of paying homage to the masters - a way of showing that she understands her roots. It is a collection of 10 jazz classics that Carol, along with this excellent band, has rendered her own.

She performs an earthy version of the Billie Holiday standard God Bless The Child with a spare background arrangement. Igor Romanyk does Stephane Grapelli one better with his beautiful violin solo here.

Hers is a new and refreshing take on the much-overdone Gershwin classic Summertime, with drummer Daniel Barnes setting a sexy, walking rhythm that she and the rest of the band take up.

Carol and bassist Steve Wallace start out easy on their version of Bye, Bye Blackbird, but soon the rest of the band joins in to get down and dirty. The two finish up again with a tasty flourish. The CD finishes with a fairly standard arrangement of the Gershwins' The Man I Love. Carol's vocals blend really well with the four-piece rhythm section, and it's Romanyk's violin solo that, once again, adds the extra spice.

The band, ClaireVoyance, is made up of Stephen Gardner, who plays a very controlled piano which demonstrates his understanding of the jazz classics, Steve Wallace whose bass playing really anchors everything, and Daniel Barnes on the drums. Trading guitars is Ted Quinlan and Lorne Lofsky while Steve Crowe's trumpet work on the opening cut, Rogers and Hart's Everything I Got gets things jumping right from the start.

Brenda Carol is released independently by Darwyn Records, 429 Danforth Ave. and is available at most record stores. It costs $23. For more information on Carol visit her website at www.brendacarol.com.

Reviewed by: Bill MacLean

beach metro Community News: www.the-beaches.com/beachmetro

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The Jazz Review – April 14, 1999               

Featured Artist: Brenda Carol

CD Title: Brenda Carol

Year: 1998

Record Label: Darwyn Records

Artist's Website: brendacarol.com

Review: A lovely Canadian vocalist with an enchantment and singing magic all her own has appeared on the scene, and her name is Brenda Carol. This cd is full of standards that will delight any jazz listener! Brenda Carol has excellent backup musicians, and everything comes together in an even flow of musical expertise and harmonic expression. At last, a new George Gershwin interpreter who understands the essence of Gershwin music and can share it fully and soulfully with her listening audience. It is good to have somebody who understands the old standards and can express them so beautifully as Brenda Carol. An excellent cd.

Reviewed by: Lee Prosser

The Jazz Review

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Cadence Magazine          

David Lewis - January 1999 - Cadence Magazine - page 39 - Vol. 25 No. 1

"LIZ GORRILL

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH,

2 NEW ARTISTS 1030...

Invocation: How Deep Is The Ocean/Part 1- Love's Fire: Secrets Start Singing / Shaken Out In Thunder / Stella By Starlight/ The Story Of Pure Mirrors / Vision To Flame / Gardens Dying,Blossoming / Spring's Firebirds /Magician of Being / Our Mystery Will Grow Green/ Part II - Alone With the One: The Stormy Wind / Within the Mysterious Darkness/ Shine The Warriors Heart / When Time Is Vanishing/ From Abyss to Abyss/ Nuances of the Rainbow / Blue Is My Inside Sky/ Two Hands Made of Sun/ The Eternal Now of Music 64:59

Gorrill, p, vcl. NY, 5-6/97 & 1/98.

2) BRENDA CAROL,

BRENDA CAROL,

2 DARWYN RECORDS 8-7208

Everything I've Got*/ God Bless The Child / You Must Believe In Spring / I'm Hip* / Summertime / Old Devil Moon / Nefertiti */ Bye Bye Blackbird / Lush Life / The Man I Love. 53:18  [all sound samples in MP3 format]

Carol, vcl; Stephen Gardner, p; Ted Quinlan, g; Igor Romanyk, vln; Steve Wallace, b; Daniel Barnes, d; No location, 3/17*98,except*: Carol, vcl; Gardner, p; Lorne Lofsky, g; Stephen Crowe, tpt; Wallace, b; Barnes, d; Art Avalos, perc. No location, 3/18/98. [location was: The Studio at Puck's Farm, Schomberg, Ontario]

3) BRAD MEHLDAU,

SONGS: THE ART OF THE TRIO, VOL. 3,

2 WARNER BROS. 47051

Song Song / Unrequited / Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered / Exit Music (For A Film) / At A Loss / Convalescent / For All We Know / River Man / Young At Heart / Sehnsucht. 59:25

Mehldau, p; Jorge Rossy, d; Larry Grenadier, b. NYC, NY, 5/27 - 28/98

"After a stark, brooding deconstruction of Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is The Ocean", Liz Gorrill goes on to create a startling solo piano record that explores territory hovering somewhere between Paul Bley and Ran Blake. Certainly there's a classical touch and strong feel of formal rigor about her playing that ranges from the Satie-like repetitions of "Secrets Start Singing" to the fugue-like romp of "Two Hands Made of Sun", a startling performance that made me smile as it conjured up a further point of reference: Lennie Tristano. From impressionist miniatures like "Shaken Out In Thunder" and "The Stormy Wind" to Gorrill explores an adventurous program in (1) that is simply exquisite.

"In contrast, Brenda Carol engages material that looks all too familiar. To her credit (2) pulls it off. Carol's rather plain expression becomes a prime strength as it serves to reveal not the singer but the songs. Maybe that's why songs so closely associated with Billy Holiday, like "God Bless The Child" and Gershwin's "Summertime" and "The Man I Love" are among Carol's best. Her music is also well served by the maturity of the settings. Solo highlights include Igor Romanyk's violin in "God Bless The Child" and "The Man I Love", Wallace's bass in "You Must Believe In Spring", Gardner's piano and Crowe's trumpet in an atmospheric interpretation of Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti." Yet it is the solid group interplay in performances like "Summertime," "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "Lush Life" that indicate why (2) is such an unexpected surprise.

(3) also sustains a high standard. The sparse, melodic minimalism of Mehldau's opening "Song Song" reminded me of Carla Bley while the compelling trio interplay in "Unrequited," "At A Loss," "Convalescent," "River Man" and "Young At Heart" showcase this group's excellent rapport. Grenadier explores impressive solo space in "Unrequited," "At A Loss" and "Sehnsucht" while Rossy's mallet work in "River Man" and "Young At Heart" shows the lyrical passion that he contributes to this music. Among the highlights of an impressive set is a splendid version of Radiohead's "Exit Music" from O.K. Computer. All three of these CDs are well worth acquiring."

David Lewis

January 1999 Cadence Magazine - page 39 Vol. 25 No. 1

(Used with permission for reference purposes only. Please do not copy or use this review without permission from Cadence Magazine directly.)

©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." 

Joanne Brackeen - Jazz Pianist/Educator

©2008 Brenda Carol.

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