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| Antoinette Montague: Live Interview Antoinette Montague will be interviewed by Michale Bourne on WBGO 88.3 FM on Nov. 26. Montague will also be perfoming with the Mike Longo Trio, Tuesday, Dec. 5 & 12 at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium, NYC. Antoinette Montague is a jazz singer who regularly performs at many New York City venues, entertaining audiences with her crystal-clear tone, her range and her emotional intensity. In the music world, jazz and blues have a long history as close companions, but singer Antoinette Montague joins those genres in holy matrimony on her debut album, Pretty Blues. The phrase "Pretty Blues" is simply another way of describing Antoinette's jazzy-blues. Her strength is combining the heartfelt passion of the blues with the sophistication of jazz. Her style can be powerful one moment and soft-and-delicate the next. Her lusty and soulful voice reaches right into the heart of the listener. "At times I have been called a jazz singer who can belt the blues, and other times they say I am a blues singer who can swing with a jazz band", states Montague. "I don't care. I am just happy to be a singer. Period. I'm just letting it flow however it goes. Of course I mix jazz and blues. It's natural to take all of your inspirations and blend them together. You also might hear me throw in a little gospel, R&B, Motown soul or big-band stylings. We build on what came before. The classic example is Billie Holliday, who was influenced by Bessie Smith's blues, but Billie took it into more of a jazz direction." For Pretty Blues, Montague assembled a top band of some of the best jazz masters in the country with a wealth of credits - pianist Mulgrew Miller (Woody Shaw, Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Branford Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves), tenor saxophonist and flutist Bill Easley (Duke Ellington Orchestra, Benny Carter, Ruth Brown, George Benson, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Isaac Hayes, Dakota Staton), drummer Kenny Washington (Lee Konitz, Betty Carter, Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Joshua Redman, Phil Woods), and bassist Peter Washington (Art Blakey, Benny Green, Lionel Hampton, Marlena Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Michal Urbaniak). Montague co-produced with musical director Kenny Washington while Miller contributed arrangements. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |