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Jazz Articles about Darden Purcell
Darden Purcell: Love's Got Me in a Lazy Mood
by Geannine Reid
Darden Purcell's album Love's Got Me In A Lazy Mood (OA2 Records, 2023) shows her keen ear for the subtleties and nuances which define the West Coast cool jazz vocal sound. Purcell's album comprises eleven tracks which blend the laid-back, sophisticated rhythms and melodic inventiveness that characterize the style with beautiful singing and nimble playing. Purcell is joined by an ensemble of musicians whose contributions are pivotal to the album's charm and success. On six tracks the ensemble ...
read moreDarden Purcell: Easy Living
by C. Michael Bailey
Working backwards, I discovered DC-area jazz vocalist and educator Darden Purcell with her second recording, Where the Blue Begins (Armored Records, 2016). It was an impressive recital with the nominal theme of twilight winding through its repertoire. While less thematically focused, Easy Living remains a well programmed set of eleven standards, “My Funny Valentine" thankfully not among them. Easy Living smacks of youthfully precocious invention, a collection of master musicians trying their individual talents out in creative ways. ...
read moreDarden Purcell: Where the Blue Begins
by C. Michael Bailey
Dr. Darden Purcell waited eight years to record Where the Blue Begins as a follow up to her debut recording Easy Living (Armored Records, 2009). The Dr. part? Yes, well Dr. Darden is the Director of Jazz Studies, Jazz Voice at George Mason University, and holds a doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz. Her bona fides aside, Darden, is as much a vocalist as an educator and each role feeds the other in a most convenient relationship. Easy Living is ...
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