Results for "John Vance"

John Vance

It could be said that there are two types of jazz singers. Some function as instrumentalists, using the melody and lyrics as mere points of departure before they create abstract improvisations. The other type are those who are storytellers, digging deep into the meaning of the words they sing, paying respect to the composers’ melodies while still making each song their own. John Vance falls into the latter category. Dreamsville features John’s interpretations of a dozen mostly vintage standards and “If You Go,” a haunting song that he co-wrote with pianist Jeff Colella. “It’s always a challenge when performing songs that have been around a long time, making them contemporary, fresh, and interesting, rather than rehashing someone else’s arrangement.” For this set, Vance is joined by Colella (who contributed the arrangements), bassist Trey Henry and drummer Kendall Kay, with two appearances by guest trumpeter-flugelhornist Stacy Rowles and three by guitarist Larry Koonse, who accompanies Vance perfectly on “My Foolish Heart.” The melodies on Dreamsville, which include such standards as “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You,” “Invitation,” “Better Than Anything” and “Speak Low,” may be familiar but the interpretations are modern, heartfelt, and full of subtle surprises

Dreamsville

By John Vance

Label: Erawan Records
Released: 2007
Track listing: I Hadn't Anyone Till You; Darn That Dream; Like A Lover; Invitation; If You Go; Better Than Anything; I'm Beginning to See the Light; My Foolish Heart; Speak Low; You Don't Know What Love Is; Not LIke This; Bluesette; Dreamsville.

John Vance: Dreamsville

by Martin Gladu
December 10, 2007

In love as in song, heartfelt declarations are better served softly whispered into the ear. Out of the marketing gambit dubiously called “lounge jazz" (a most cringing sobriquet), one can nevertheless denote a relation to the authentic art form: its kinship to the great Tin Pan Alley songbook. In a few simple metaphors and verses, these ...

John Vance: Dreamsville

by Michael P. Gladstone
December 5, 2007

Singer John Vance's It's All Right With Me (Erawan, 2003), was an enjoyable debut; a breath of fresh at a time when Peter Cincotti, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick, Jr., were being touted as the next Male Vocal Jazz Star. Dreamsville initially appears to be more of the same, consisting of songs ...

It's All Right With Me

By John Vance

Label: Erawan Records
Released: 2004
Track listing: I'll Take Romance, Haven't We Met, Isn't It Romantic, One Note Samba, The Nearness of You, Wave, When Sunny Gets Blue, The Best is Yet to Come, Easy Living, There Will Never Be Another You, It's All Right With Me, Two for the Road.

John Vance: It's All Right With Me

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 1, 2004

Another day dawns and another new male vocalist interpreting the Great American Songbook appears... but here's one who does it right. John Vance, with acting credentials from television, commercials and film, wanted to pursue his muse in becoming a jazz singer in 2001 and has co-produced this collection of twelve tracks. He is a resident in ...