Jazz Articles about

Carolyn Leonhart: Tides of Yesterday

by Marcia Hillman
June 8, 2010

Vocalist Carolyn Leonhart and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery are a young husband-and-wife team, and Tides of Yesterday is their second recorded partnership. And a partnership it is, because this CD (as the liner notes say) is not about a “vocalist with a band or a band with a guest vocalist." Leonhart's sultry and expressive voice acts, at times, as another instrument, contributing scatting and wordless vocals. Both have worked with the band members--Toru Dodo (acoustic and electric piano), Hans Glawischnig (bass), ...

Carolyn Leonhart and Wayne Escoffery: If Dreams Come True

by Suzanne Lorge
March 9, 2008

Singer Carolyn Leonhart and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, a couple both on and off the bandstand, completed a smooth run at New York's Smoke the weekend of Valentine's Day 2008, highlighting the title cut from If Dreams Come True along with some well-written originals and some intelligently reworked standards. Theirs is a sweetly romantic tale: The couple met at Smoke on Feb. 14th six years ago, married in 2004 and are expecting their first child this year. The romantic backstory aside, ...

Carolyn Leonhart and Wayne Escoffery: If Dreams Come True

by Michael P. Gladstone
January 14, 2008

The combination of jazz vocalist Carolyn Leonhart and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery is an unusual and exciting one. Leonhart, the daughter of jazz bassist Jay Leonhart, has recorded in the past for Sunnyside Records--Steal The Moon (2000) and New 8th Day (2005). She also has provided harmony vocal work for Steely Dan over an eleven-year period. Escoffery was a member of the exciting Ben Riley's Monk Legacy Jazz Septet, with Memories of T (Concord, 2006) being critically well-received. Escoffery released his ...

Carolyn Leonhart and Wayne Escoffery: If Dreams Come True

by Woodrow Wilkins
December 11, 2007

A charming vocalist with solid roots and versatility is a good thing. A saxophonist who can play with verve while also covering a variety of styles is equally good. Put the two together, and you've got a match made in musical heaven. Enter Carolyn Leonhart and Wayne Escoffery, a duo who met on Valentine's Day in 2002 and were married two years later. Leonhart, the daughter of bassist Jay Leonhart has two prior solo releases on Sunnyside Records--Steal ...

Carolyn Leonhart: New 8th Day

by Dr. Judith Schlesinger
November 30, 2005

In a world full of cookie-cutter jazz vocalists and instant vanity CDs (just add water), it's rare to hear a singer who has both chops and discernible style. Carolyn Leonhart is one of the few: it's a pleasure to hear the intelligence and nuance in her delivery, and she also swings her posterior off. Add to all this an unusually interesting set of tunes and a sterling quartet, and you have a release that's a cut above most of what's ...

Carolyn Leonhart: New 8th Day

by Michael P. Gladstone
May 17, 2005

This is the second album from singer Carolyn Leonhart, who also worked with the re-formed Steely Dan in the '90s providing harmony vocals. She is also the daughter of veteran bassist/composer and occasional vocalist Jay Leonhart.

The album alternates between originals and standards. Leonhart has a definite edge to her delivery, only letting her guard down on the second, and preferred, half of this album. On the opening original “Noneday," I hear traces of Sheila Jordan in Leonhart's ...

Carolyn Leonhart: Steal The Moon

by David Adler
September 1, 2000

Carolyn Leonhart sits astride the jazz and pop worlds, allowing both to inform her singing and repertoire. The daughter of bassist Jay Leonhart and a backup singer for the reunited Steely Dan, Leonhart inflects her jazz singing with an unmistakable dose of soul and R&B, not unlike Chaka Khan or even Rickie Lee Jones.Pianist Rob Bargad is Leonhart’s main collaborator on this album, contributing five compositions, including the lush ballad “Yesterday’s a Dream" and a borderline-corny but charming ...