Jazz Articles about Connie Evingson

About Connie Evingson

Radio & Podcasts

What does it take to lose weight? Willpower. Stop biting your nails? Willpower. What does it take to stop watching America's Got Talent? Half a brain—but that's a different issue. Getting back on topic: what does it take to give up smoking? Again, Willpower. So let me get this straight: Willpower is forcing yourself not to do something. Wouldn't it make more sense to call it Won't-power? But no—everyone gives Willpower all the praise and approbation. Well, not this week! ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson & the John Jorgenson Quintet: All the Cats Join In

Read "All the Cats Join In" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
August 12, 2015

Minneapolis-native Connie Evingson is one of the most durable and reliable jazz singers performing. She has had a spate of fine recordings in the last decade, including: Let it Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles (Minnehaha, 2003), Gypsy in My Soul (Minnehaha, 2005), Stockholm Sweetnin'(Minnehaha, 2006), Little Did I Dream: Songs By Dave Frishberg (Minnehaha, 2008), and Sweet Happy Life (Minnehaha, 2012). Presently, Evingson continues her trend of exceptional recordings with All the Cats Join In. ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson: All The Cats Join In

Read "All The Cats Join In" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
June 10, 2015

Were it not for her decision to remain in Minnesota, Connie Evingson would surely be a better-known jazz vocalist. Over the course of her previous releases she's proven herself to be a prepossessing singer capable of getting to the marrow of a lyric without pretense or posturing. And she's remarkably good at putting together programs, be it a salute to The Beatles, a trip through the work of Norman Gimbel, a tribute to Peggy Lee, or a collection of well-organized ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello

by Nicholas F. Mondello
October 19, 2012

There are surprises galore and much to be enjoyed in Sweet Happy Life, from fine Minneapolis-based vocalist, Connie Evingson. Perhaps the most immediate of those discoveries, even before a listen, is the canon of work from Grammy and Academy Award-winning lyricist, Norman Gimbel, to whose oeuvre this CD is a tribute.With Sweet Happy Life Evingson and her mates superbly cover some of the most well-known selections in popular music. The fascinating thing is that Gimbel, while not as ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
September 30, 2012

Norman Gimbel's name may not register with a lot of educated jazz fans, yet he's linked to some of the most important songs and artists in the music. Gimbel wrote the lyrics attached to harmonica ace Toots Thielemans' best known number, “Bluesette," captured Michel Legrand's musical moods in words on “I Will Wait For You" and “Watch What Happens," and opened up English-language ears to the world of bossa nova. His lyrics for many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's songs are ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson & The Hot Club of Sweden: Stockholm Sweetnin’

Read "Stockholm Sweetnin’" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
August 4, 2012

After the release of the top-drawer Sweet Happy Life (Minnehhaha Music, 2012), it was worth pursuing the All About Jazz review archives to see if there were any recent Connie Evingson releases we neglected to consider. Imagine our luck that a significant recording has been overlooked, one that appeals directly to Evingson's Scandinavian heritage: 2006's Stockholm Sweetnin'. Recorded with The Hot Club of Sweden, Evingson settles into an uncommon comfort level that allows her to relax and ...

Album Review

Connie Evingson: Sweet Happy Life

Read "Sweet Happy Life" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
July 30, 2012

Singer Connie Evingson is a master of thematic programming. Her last several recordings have all been predicated on specific themes that showed great consideration in their concepts. Recordings released since the new millennium include: Little Did I Dream: Songs by Dave Frishberg (Minnehaha Music, 2008); Stockholm Sweetnin' (Minnehaha Music, 2006); Gypsy in my Soul (Minnehaha Music, 2005); The Secret of Christmas (Minnehaha Music, 2003); and Let It Be Jazz: Connie Evingson Sings the Beatles (Summit Records, 2003). All are uniformly ...