This is an extraordinary singer, songwriter, and a source of a light we are fortunate to experience.
—Reggie Workman, bassist / NEA Jazz Master
The four-years, four-cities, 32-musician-project, Players, by singer/songwriter Eugenie Jones is now available for your Grammy consideration. Listeners are invited to review this ten-original, five-jazz classic, two-disc project during round-one consideration.
“Jones has developed her own personal style. But, more than being a deft vocalist, Jones has also proven to be a skillful song—writer, debuting 19 of her songs. Players features (an additional) ten originals with inventive versions of five standards, some of which are fairly obscure.” —Scott Yanow, Jazziz
“An excellent singer, with a voice, style, and range that encompasses multiple idioms. I predict she will become the next singing sensation in all of music." —Joe Chambers, Blue Note Records Recording Artist
“Booking record dates in Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, and New York demands a brand of grit,... but tenacity and project management was elemental long before she conceived Players.” —Stephanie Jones, DownBeat
“Wholly entertaining original songs… a remarkable life story, an inspiring ‘you can make it if you try’ journey if there ever was one.” —Thomas Staudter, The Gazette (NY)
Her singing career began later in life after the death of her mother in 2008. “At one stage of my grief, I recognized a void that I can best describe as missing the sound of my mother singing. Seeking solace and a positive way to cope with my grief, I began wondering if I could carry on that part of her." That speculation led Jones to the Seattle jazz scene and ultimately to the pursuit of something she had never before imagined—a singing career.
Her woodshedding with local Seattle bands paid off with the release of her 2013 debut CD, Black Lace Blue Tears. Kirk Silsbee's 3.5-star review of the CD in Down Beat magazine praised Jones for her “rhythm and swinging" and her “unforced lyricism." The CD was the first-ever vocal release to win the coveted Earshot Jazz NW Recording of the Year award. On the strength of her 2015 follow-up, Come Out Swingin', Jones ranked in Jazz Week's top 50 and won the title of NW Vocalist of the Year from Earshot. The CD was lauded in Jazziz magazine for her “smoke-and-satin vocals in settings that float like a butterfly and swing like a night at the Savoy." Jones also established a nonprofit, Music for a Cause, that presents free live concerts while raising money for community service organizations such as senior centers, community food banks, and Boys & Girls Clubs.
The Players
- NEW YORK: James Weidman, Julian Priester, Marquis Hill, Reggie Workman, Bernard Purdie, Bobby Sanabria, Asaf Even Zur, Stanley Banks, Jovan Johnson.
- SEATTLE: Bill Anschell, Julian Priester, Alex Dugdale, Jay Thomas, Clipper Anderson, Mark Ivester, D’Vonne Lewis, Jeff Busch, Velocity, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio.
- DALLAS: Shaun Martin, Lynn Seaton, Quincy Davis, Jose Apontè.
- CHICAGO: Kevin O’Connell, Marquis Hill, Lonnie Plaxico, Xavier Breaker.
Praise for Players by Eugenie Jones
“Players is more than impressive, pairing Jones with a far-flung, bicoastal, multi-generational cast of, well, players... her fine-grained voice and keen attention to her collaborators keep the ear piqued.” —Andrew Gilbert, Jazz Times“Jones has developed her own personal style. But, more than being a deft vocalist, Jones has also proven to be a skillful song—writer, debuting 19 of her songs. Players features (an additional) ten originals with inventive versions of five standards, some of which are fairly obscure.” —Scott Yanow, Jazziz
“An excellent singer, with a voice, style, and range that encompasses multiple idioms. I predict she will become the next singing sensation in all of music." —Joe Chambers, Blue Note Records Recording Artist
“Booking record dates in Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, and New York demands a brand of grit,... but tenacity and project management was elemental long before she conceived Players.” —Stephanie Jones, DownBeat
“Wholly entertaining original songs… a remarkable life story, an inspiring ‘you can make it if you try’ journey if there ever was one.” —Thomas Staudter, The Gazette (NY)
About Eugenie Jones
Eugenie Jones grew up listening to her mother's singing at local church events and around their home. She also grew up listening to her older siblings' Motown records, and her parents' Nancy Wilson and Ray Charles LPs. But in those early years, she had no latent desire to become a singer. Jones grew up, earned her MBA, married, and eventually made her home in Seattle, raising two sons and building a career in marketing and communications work for nonprofits.Her singing career began later in life after the death of her mother in 2008. “At one stage of my grief, I recognized a void that I can best describe as missing the sound of my mother singing. Seeking solace and a positive way to cope with my grief, I began wondering if I could carry on that part of her." That speculation led Jones to the Seattle jazz scene and ultimately to the pursuit of something she had never before imagined—a singing career.
Her woodshedding with local Seattle bands paid off with the release of her 2013 debut CD, Black Lace Blue Tears. Kirk Silsbee's 3.5-star review of the CD in Down Beat magazine praised Jones for her “rhythm and swinging" and her “unforced lyricism." The CD was the first-ever vocal release to win the coveted Earshot Jazz NW Recording of the Year award. On the strength of her 2015 follow-up, Come Out Swingin', Jones ranked in Jazz Week's top 50 and won the title of NW Vocalist of the Year from Earshot. The CD was lauded in Jazziz magazine for her “smoke-and-satin vocals in settings that float like a butterfly and swing like a night at the Savoy." Jones also established a nonprofit, Music for a Cause, that presents free live concerts while raising money for community service organizations such as senior centers, community food banks, and Boys & Girls Clubs.
For more information contact Bright Ideas.
