Jazz Articles about Antoinette Montague

Bobby Sanabria: Vox Humana

by Cary Tenenbaum
May 6, 2023

The opening track on Vox Humana could easily have been the encore of this live performance recorded at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, part of Jazz At Lincoln Center in New York City. It is a rousing version of the Duke Ellington crowd pleaser “Caravan" and a boisterous Latin tinged big band version it is, with Matthew Gonzalez's barril de bomba and requinto pandereta, bandleader and drummer Sanabria and others on congas, bongos and bells prominently leading the percussionists and portending ...

Take Five With Antoinette Montague

by AAJ Staff
May 17, 2010

Meet Antoinette Montague:Antoinette Montague likes to say she simply sings “people music." Make no mistake about it, she is a jazz singer through and through, but one who pushes the genre's boundaries. On her new recording, Behind the Smile, Montague sings classic jazz standards (new and old), resurrects lovely-but-obscure melodies, blends in blues and gospel through her vocal shadings, and puts entirely new jazz arrangements to material from other genres such as R&B, classic soul and pop.

Working ...

Antoinette Montague: Behind The Smile

by Marcia Hillman
May 10, 2010

Antoinette Montague shows what is Behind the Smile--eclectic taste and strong delivery. She is joined by choice company on this outing: Mulgrew Miller (piano), Bill Easley (saxophone, clarinet and flute), Peter Washington (bass) and drummer Kenny Washington, who doubles as producer. Montague's programmatic choices are a varied mix, including blues, soul, the Great American Songbook, two Motown numbers and the original title track. She travels through these different genres without being tied down to any of them, ...

Antoinette Montague: Behind the Smile

by Woodrow Wilkins
February 2, 2010

With every smile is a story. Singer Antoinette Montague explores this concept with Behind the Smile, a collection of 13 songs that represent things that have influenced the smiles in her life. A native of Newark, New Jersey, Montague has performed at a variety of venues, including Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, Jazzmobile's Summer Breeze concert series and the Zebra Room in Harlem's Lenox Lounge. Accompanying her on this effort are woodwind player Bill Easley, pianist ...

Antoinette Montague: Pretty Blues

by Jim Santella
September 27, 2006

Antoinette Montague works with a top-notch ensemble for this project. The other musicians provide her vibrant voice with a cohesive sound that mellows all around her with a deeply felt blues spirit. Hence the title Pretty Blues, which emphasizes the luster that fills the room.

The New York-based singer has an active career that spans several genres. Gospel, blues, swing and jazz have armed her with innumerable tools that allow her to express herself naturally with strong emotions. ...