Rita di Ghent

Canada

“[keynote presenter] di Ghent uses her soulful voice and spoken-word infused original jazz tunes to inspire audiences to consider how others live their lives – the struggles they go through, the prejudices they face, and the challenges they strive to overcome. It is impossible to hear her perform and not come away inspired
to listen better to people’s stories, their pain, and their joys. Rita’s music is inspired by her desire to create change in society for the better. She does this by using her music to showcase perceptions of Others in hopes that with greater understanding of those who are different than ourselves, we will learn greater tolerance and have a more peaceful society.” (Joan Harrison, U of Ottawa Symposium Democratic Dialogue Via the Arts)

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Canada

“[keynote presenter] di Ghent uses her soulful voice and spoken-word infused original jazz tunes to inspire audiences to consider how others live their lives – the struggles they go through, the prejudices they face, and the challenges they strive to overcome. It is impossible to hear her perform and not come away inspired
to listen better to people’s stories, their pain, and their joys. Rita’s music is inspired by her desire to create change in society for the better. She does this by using her music to showcase perceptions of Others in hopes that with greater understanding of those who are different than ourselves, we will learn greater tolerance and have a more peaceful society.” (Joan Harrison, U of Ottawa Symposium Democratic Dialogue Via the Arts)

“…to find an artist who can write and perform out of a traditional jazz setting, and yet do it in a way that appeals to a wide cross-section of musical tastes in no easy feat.  To find this quality in an artist who also maintains the highest standards of musical integrity is even more rare.  Rita is such an artist.”  (The Medicine Hat News)

“The coolest jazz diva on the scene.”  (Ottawa X-press)

“Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Rita di Ghent and her band are booked for just about every major Canadian Jazz Festival this summer…di Ghent is a true original…Her composition $20 Ring is absolutely captivating.  This vocalist is a coveted Canadian treasure.” (The Jazz Review)

“Intertwining original material with standard tunes is one of my favourite aspects of di Ghent’s work…di Ghent has a definitely refreshing sound.  If the future of Jazz is Rita di Ghent, then the future sounds bright.” (The Vancouver Discorder)

“di Ghent’s versions of God Bless the Child and Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman are beautiful in their simplicity, her voice capturing determination and frailty as it dips and disappears…Signs of Spring in My Neighbourhood is a fantastic slice of life from her Dundsas/Sherbourne hood.  She paints lyrical pictures with color and detachment, pulling you in and leaving you wondering…Who knows?—maybe one day they’ll make one of those Canadian Heritage commercials about the invention of Sprawl…” (Eye Magazine, Toronto)   

New York:

"The best new singers I’ve heard have depended not so much on pure sonic pleasure or vocal emotion, but on ideas. One of them is Rita di Ghent…one of the most interesting singers of the contemporary era…The three albums I’ve heard by her (on Groove Productions), all have new ideas on them. Her latest album is Standard Sessions II, in which she does Jacques Brel’s "Ne Me Quitte Pas" as a jazz ballad with string section and solo bass – a sound reminiscent of Charlie Haden’s recent albums.  Di Ghent’s most engaging idea is the sound she calls ‘Sprawl,’ in which she starts with a standard, like ‘He’s Funny That Way,’ and departs from it in an original passage that’s somewhere between rap and poetry recitation...These variations make vintage songs seem contemporary without sounding like she’s stooping to conquer. Now that’s a new idea."  

 Jazz Columnist/Author Will Friedwald in The New York Sun 

France

…”Rita di Ghent est une chanteuse hot dans la tradition, avec une belle voix mezzo qui colle a merveille (“What a Little Moonlight Can Do”)… Rita di Ghent est une chanteuse dont on se souvient et qui ne laisse pas indifferent.  (Michel Bedin, Jazz Hot, Paris)

[English translation]] “Rita di Ghent is a hot vocalist in the grand tradition, with a beautiful mezzo voice that really swings…there are so few singers capable of doing what she can accomplish…Rita is a singer one remembers, one who definitely doesn’t leave a listener indifferent.” (Jazz Hot Magazine, Paris)

Hong Kong:

“…di Ghent is in the mold-breaking business, and has come up with a style all of her own called “sprawl”….sharp, sassy, funky and even fashionable, di Ghent’s performance demonstrated that she can sing jazz in the traditional sense while also bringing her own more modern lyrical and vocal skills to the party.  Several of her own song, which focus on North American street life, are excellent, particularly 20 Dollar Ring, a tale of a poverty-stricken girl murdered for a worthless piece of jewelry, and the witty Signs of Spring in My Neighbourhood.  Perhaps the high point of the show, however, was a radical re-invention of Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman…extraordinarily compelling.”  (The South China Morning Post)

Australia:

“What can I say... the girl is BRILLIANT!!! [Rita di Ghent’s] got a million dollars down [her] throat!   Harold Ellison "The Jazz Cafe" TripleU-FM Nowra, New South Wales, Australia 

Argentina:

“...[di Ghent is] a new fresh, sensual and swingin´ jazz lady...a fine and original  voice... For me it is a great honour to have the possibility to [air di Ghent’s] fine jazz material to the Argentine audience of JAZZ CAFE.  

Carlos Fernandez Pacin, "Jazz Cafe Radio”, Buenos Aires Argentina

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