***********************************
From The New York Times
“Stately grandeur and youthful intensity: the annual New York
Cabaret Convention at the Rose Theater has never lacked for
great ladies and refined gentlemen. But as for youth (performers
under 50), it has always struggled to forge a credible connection
between a nightclub tradition nearly done in by rock ’n’ roll and
television and the idea of a future. This year was different. All it
takes to demonstrate that somehow or other the tradition goes
on is a couple of exceptional rising talents. And at the
convention’s opening-night gala on Thursday, two singers ��”
T.
Oliver Reid and Amanda King ��” leapt out from the pack.”
************************************
From San Francisco Chronicle
“The stakes had been raised exponentially by the time young Bay
Area singer Amanda King took the stage at the Hotel Nikko's
Rrazz Room on Monday night. That's because she'd recently
blown away the audience and the New York Times' Stephen
Holden at the Mabel Mercer Foundation's New York Cabaret
Convention, which is pretty much the World Series of cabaret.
What King proved on Monday is that she has a deliciously supple
voice, capable of gliding easily from a thrumming, oaky and often
sultry lower register to a delicately melodic upper tier. Bits and
pieces of her 90-minute show may have been uneven, and she
wasn't always served well by her backup trio, but there's no
question Amanda King is a singer worth watching and, more
important, worth hearing.”
***********************************
From San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Amanda King is a young jazz/cabaret artist well on the road to
entertainment royalty. She recently brought Bay Area cabaret
lovers Forgotten Women, Lost Songs at The RRazz Room,
focusing on three women ��” Blanche Calloway, Mildred Bailey
and Bea Wayne ��” all pioneers in music and not necessarily
just
for their gender. King’s radiant presence, sparkling eyes and out-
of-this-world smile projects a sincere warmth and true love of her
craft, evoking the essence of stars of the 1930-50s while
maintaining her own style and heart.
King is a Princess of Swing, zippin’ a tune with spark and vitality
that highlights aspects of the song that are rarely noticed, yet
truly there. Where others might choose a more languorous
approach, King gets to business finding the joyful beat inside.
Case in point is her inspired version of “Skylark,” making it her
own with an easy driving rhythm, illuminating the song in a fresh
new light. Instead of drawn-out longing, King’s version has a
joyous anticipation, her heart riding the wings of the titled bird
with hope. A successful and personalized approach. Ditto with
“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Where others would take a
sustained, reserved approach, King swings as she sings this
classic, perking the ears up. The audience took a collective lean
forward, engaged and enthralled with the surprise take.
Her first song of the evening, however, is “Slap That Bass,” and it
gives a full sampler platter of King’s multi-hued palette: rich, full,
playful, a love of entertaining and many gifts to offer. “Black
Moonlight” shows King’s delicious low notes running along
currents of a saturated, healthy midrange, embellished with a
smattering of well-placed vibrato shimmering an appropriate light
around the mood and lyrics. “Heart & Soul” makes one think of a
keyboard duet in beginning piano class when we hear the title,
but King gives us a grown-up, jazzy version that choreographic-
great Jack Cole would have been inspired by in his time (do a
Wikipedia search on Cole to see his influence in entertainment).
In an evening of excellence, of special note is her encore. She
returned to the stage, was going to change her selection, then
decided to stay with what she rehearsed. Lucky for us. What she
does with “Lazy Afternoon” is beyond exquisite. Here, she plays
the mood down-tempo, inhabiting the long, luxurious, sensual
and sense-filled events of a quiet day meant to be shared. Jaw-
droppingly-good, this should be a King signature tune. She
transports the audience and sends us off with this melting,
luscious melding of artist and song.”
***********************************
From NUVO newsweekly
“Listening and re-listening to the eleven cuts of Amanda
King's Chanteuse, one is drawn to the singer's up-beat
approach and lyrical line. King delivers whimsy in the soul
and depth in the swing. She’s not afraid to put her heart on
her sleeve as on “Love for Sale” ��” knowing she might be
revealing more than she wants to at this moment in her life.
She equally speaks her mind as in the fast stepping “I’m One
of God’s Children,” surprising with a pixie ending. And
she’s daring, as with the shifting moods of the unusual love
song, “Bei Mir Bist du Schoen.”
The mix of tempo, styles and degrees of introspection make
this an intriguing collection that also includes the upbeat
“Stop that Bass,” dreamy “Black Moonlight,” introspective
“Makin’ Whoopie,” flirty “Night and Day,” shimmering “Lazy
Afternoon,” in a hurry “Got A Lot of Livin’ To Do,” cozying
up “What is This Thing Called Love,” and all out “One Note
Samba.”
Yes, we expect vocal and lyric interpretive growth in
succeeding albums, and more of the transformative power that
comes across in her live performance, when King is at one
with the audience and her band.” ~ Rita Kohn, NUVO
Newsweekly
***************************
From Pure Jazz Radio
“Unfortunately, a lot of singers fall into a couple of
categories: great voice and no feeling for the material, or,
too much feeling and no sound. Let’s not even get into
whether they can swing…
I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it.
From listening to 30 seconds of the first cut, “Slap That
Bass,”on Amanda King’s new album “Chanteuse’ it is evident
that she has it all together.
Amanda, along with her very sharp trio, presents a program
of standards, and songs that probably should be standards,
with a style that hints that she’s been there and done
that….but, still gets a kick out of doing it.
We’re glad to have cuts from Amanda King’s “Chanteuse” on
our playlist at Pure Jazz Radio.” ~ Rich Keith, Pure Jazz
Radio
****************************************
From an interview in the San Francisco Sentinel
“AMANDA KING was one of the last performers to appear at
San
Francisco’s once favorite cabaret, the Plush Room, before
the doors closed forever in early 2008. The show was a total
success. Amanda then went on to record Chanteuse, a
collection of popular songs from the ‘30s and ‘40s now
referred to as the [Great] American Songbook. This treasured
material has Amanda’s name written all over it. Her tone is
rich and sexy, her phrasing is smooth, the delivery balances
carefree passion with subtle humor. Amanda King is the right
girl for the very best in American songwriting.” Seán
Martinfield, San Francisco Sentinel
******************************************
From The Berkeley Daily Planet
“Amanda King performs Queenie in a blond wig, exuding lots
of stage presence and powerful vocal skills. In the middle
of her range she sounds a bit like Ella. She also has a
light, full high voice which she uses in her shipboard
lament about missing New York, and a low, low voice set way
deep in the chest and solid gold in placement. My only
complaint was that most of the songs she sang were very
short, almost conversational in tone. I longed to hear her
sing on, to tell us the story, verse and refrain.” Jaime
Robles, Berkeley Daily Planet
**********************************
From KQED Radio
“As Queenie Pie, Amanda King brings a commanding stage
presence and great physical humor to the role. Her voice is
expressive and it's unfortunate that the role doesn't give
her more opportunities to show it off.” Rebecca Krouner,
KQED Arts & Culture
***********************************
From SF Classical Voice
“...as “Queenie Pie” herself, Amanda King, whose enchanting,
mellifluous voice quickly dispels any doubt of the queen’s
nobility.” Kwami Coleman, San Francisco Classical Voice
**********************************************
From BeyondChron.org
King at The Empire Plush Room was in her perfect element.
The singer is a true throwback to the golden days of
nightclubs. It was a time when mixoligists mixed drinks
during the show. The tinkling of ice and an occasional
grinding of ice added to the ambience of being in a secret
place. At the Plush Room, things are a little different now.
The bar used to be part of the room. It was an exciting time
when stars like Charles Pierce, Mabel Mercer and Eartha Kitt
dazzled the room. The good news is that Amana King brought
back that time and place. It was like the room had morphed
back into the glory days of Cabaret.
King got the evening off to a running start with ‘Zoom-Zoom’
(ed. note “Slap That Bass”) “ a Fred Astaire number. Then
she eased into a fabulous rendition of “Love Me or Leave
Me”— sung many years ago by Ruth Etting. And as much as I
loved Julie London’s rendition of “Cry Me A River” “ I think
that King brought to the show a new and vibrant rendering of
“River.”
The audience was watching a more seasoned performer on
the
Plush Room stage. King has found new confidence and her
voice has taken on many new horizons. This was never more
evident than on “There Was a Boy” [ed note “Nature Boy”] (A
Nat King Cole song) and the thrilling “Black Moonlight” was
so masterful that I never wanted it to end. The arrangement
had enough power to send a rocket to the moon. Another
favorite of mine was the once banned song “Love for Sale”
(Cole Porter). Why was it banned on the Radio? Here are a
couple of lyrics “ “Appetizing Young Love for sale —Who
would like to sample my supply?” That’s why it was banned in
the 30’s.
King was having a marvelous time on the stage. Her
effervesant mother was in the audience as were several of
her friends. She joked with the audience about various
things. While she was pattering “ she said some people hire
a “Patter” coach. I decided to come up with my own.” It
worked “ but it wouldn’t hurt to prune it a little.
After more than eighteen songs “ King left the stage singing
“Someone to Love”. And you know what? The audience did
just
that “ LOVED HER! ~ Lee Hartgrave, BeyondChron.org
****************************************
Audience comments on GoldStar
“This singer was a suberb (sic) performer. I expected a
louder, brassier voice, and I was pleasantly surprised to be
wrong. Her choice of material was delightful, and her
delivery was pitch-perfect. I was SO glad I had taken a
chance on this unknown (to me) singer.” p.g. cabaret
appreciator (Goldstar online review)
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