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Jazz Articles about Melissa Stylianou

About Melissa Stylianou

Album Review

A great party is never just an event. It is a sequence of emotions, encounters, expectations, surprises, fleeting romances, moments of reflection, and, ultimately, gratitude. On A Marvelous Party, Duchess (Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, Melissa Stylianou) transforms that universal experience into an irresistible jazz journey. More than a collection of standards and popular songs, this is a carefully conceived concept album that traces the cycle of a memorable gathering from invitation to farewell. Throughout the program, arranger Oded ...

Album Review

Brenda Earle Stokes: Motherhood

Read "Motherhood" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
May 12, 2024

Motherhood is a salient subject if ever there was one. Yet few jazz musicians ever touch on it in their work, never mind dedicating an entire record to the topic. The real or keenly felt need to keep up with the Joneses in a musical atmosphere that typically applauds and promotes standard bearers, hyper-masculine happenings, politically charged firebrands, and cutting-edge quests doesn't leave much room for an honest and open-hearted look at the scope of selflessness and self-discovery involved with ...

Album Review

DUCHESS: Live At Jazz Standard

Read "Live At Jazz Standard" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
March 29, 2020

There are a fair number of vocal groups blending harmoniously and swinging through the jazz set today, but none are as charmingly sassy as DUCHESS. With two studio albums already under a collective belt—actually three, if you include an under-the-radar Christmas set—it only made sense for vocalists Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou to finally show the greater listening community what Duchess does on the stage. Joining up with its regular rhythm section—pianist Michael Cabe, guitarist ...

Album Review

Melissa Stylianou: No Regrets

Read "No Regrets" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
August 6, 2015

Canadese di nascita e formazione, la cantante Melissa Stylianou ormai da un decennio vive a New York, dove s'è fatta conoscere e apprezzare per le pregevoli collaborazioni (Ben Monder, Chris Lightcap, Matt Wilson, Rodney Green) ed i concerti in prestigiosi club come il Blue Note, l'Iridium, il Jazz Standard o il Birdland. Se nei quattro dischi precedenti affrontava un repertorio variegato, alternando noti standard a temi di Tom Waits, Biörk o Johnny Cash, in questo No Regrets sceglie d'immergersi ...

Live Review

Melissa Stylianou Quartet: New York City, NY, April 3, 2012

by Ernest Barteldes
April 14, 2012

Melissa Stylianou Quartet Jazz Standard New York, NY April 3, 2012During the second set of Toronto-born Melissa Stylianou's CD release event for Silent Movie (Anzic, 2012) at New York's Jazz Standard, the vocalist kicked things off with a rendition of Rodgers and Hammerstein's “It Might As Well Be Spring," played at a slow tempo and showcasing guitarist Pete McCann.The band was rounded out by pianist Jamie Reynolds, bassist Gary Wong and drummer Mike ...

Album Review

Melissa Stylianou: Silent Movie

Read "Silent Movie" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
March 20, 2012

Silent Movie è il quarto album per Melissa Stylianou. La cantante canadese si destreggia con la sua voce vellutata e intimista tra standard di jazz e cover di classici pop, blues e folk, offrendoci un disco molto variegato ma omogeneo grazie anche ad arrangiamenti impeccabili che sanno valorizzare al meglio il suo grande talento. Basta già il brano di apertura, “Smile" di Charlie Chaplin, in cui la Stylianou riesce a far suo il pezzo trasmettendo all'ascoltatore un grande senso di ...

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Album Review

Melissa Stylianou: Sliding Down

Read "Sliding Down" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
January 13, 2007

Through her program of standards and originals, jazz vocalist Melissa Stylianou interprets with an emotional fervor. She swings, she's hip, and she delivers a unique performance. Stylianou works in both lyrical presentation and thrilling wordless vocals. Musically, she carries a velvety upper register that floats gently on the breeze. But it's not her voice that stands out as the deciding factor on this recommended album; it's her accompaniment. While the album's focus remains clearly on the singer, her surrounding band ...