shannon butcher sings

Stars in My Eyes

My first review in Eye Weekly gets me 4 stars!  Thanks to Hilary Canton for the review.

Shannon Butcher: Little Hearts
Independent
  
BY HILARY CATON   May 26, 2010 21:05

EDITORIAL RATING:
After the success of her first album, Words We Both Could Say, catapulted her into iTunes’ top 10 for Best Vocal Jazz Album, Shannon Butcher returns with her sophomore disc, Little Hearts. As on her debut, the local singer covers pop songs like Lily Allen’s “Smile,” and Bryan Adams’ “Run to You” and modifies the arrangements into pieces that are as cheeky as the lyrics. On the six original compositions on the album, Butcher delivers the perfect mixture of uptempo jazz-pop and sultry vocals. The ballads “I Ain’t in the Mood for no DJ” and “Hush” flow smoothly and seductively, their combination of piano and tenor sax recreating the atmosphere of a half moon booth in a cozy club. With tracks like these, Little Hearts will be melting a few hearts of its own.

Shannon Butcher plays Hugh’s Room (2261 Dundas W) June 2.

First Little Hearts Review!

Check out Cathy Riches review of my new CD for last week's The Examiner

Jazz singer Shannon Butcher has come out with another great album following on her well-received debut Words We Both Could Say (reviewed here). Like its predecessor, the main strength of Little Hearts is in the material she's chosen to cover. Butcher has done what I think all modern jazz singers should be doing, i.e., quit covering the done-to-death standards and look to a more modern songbook for fodder.

Sure there's a place for the Gershwin and Porter re-hashings now and then - especially in live performance - but when greats like Ella and Sarah have recorded them before, a singer had better be bringing something pretty interesting to the party, or why should we buy it? 

So when I see 70s and 80s tunes on a CD cover, as is the case with “Little Hearts,” it's a sign that an artist is thinking outside the box, and that's what jazz is all about. The Bacharach-David beauty Walk on By gets a moody, heartfelt treatment that reflects the sentiment of the lyrics better than the peppy Warwick original (sorry Dionne!) and Bryan Adams' Run to You goes Latin American with Daniel Stone on cajon and Rob Piltch doing his customary gorgeous nylon string guitar work.
Butcher has also done some very fine songwriting on this album. Joy in My Heart kicks off the disc with a soulful ode to staying positive and the duet with the enormously talented Michael Kaeshammer - The Last Word - is a cute nod to 60s romantic comedies. The one older standard covered here - Irving Berlin's What'll I Do - has been given an inventive alt-country facelift courtesy of Piltch's twangy, plaintive guitar work. 
Shannon Butcher's CD release event is at Hugh's Room on June 2. Upcoming tour dates can be found at  www.shannonbutcher.com.

Cross Training - Lesson #4

Some times when you're on the trail you come upon a Cheese Boutique.  This can lead to both fantastic and disastrous consequences.

Celebrating Little Hearts at Hugh's Room

 

I'm very excited about my upcoming CD release party at Hugh's Room.  Hugh's is an amazing venue that offers great sound, a warm vibe, fantastic food and over 200 best seats in the house!  Richie Havens, Judy Collins and Jon Hendricks are just a few of the world class musicians who have graced the stage at Hugh's so I'm honoured to be holding my CD launch party there on June 2nd.  I'd be even more honoured if you, yes YOU, would join me! 

The Luscious Lena Horne

There are a select number of singers who made the seamless transition from a classical voice to the world of jazz.  Cleo Laine is one and I would add Lena Horne to the list too.

Both of these amazing vocalists proved that you don't need a certain type of voice to sing jazz but you do need a level of musicianship and an approach to the material that makes your audience's souls swing.  A rhythm that comes from within and reaches out through the microphone to a set our ears alive with luscious vibrations.

I heard today that Lena Horne passed away on the weekend.  I thank her for all she gave to the world of music and to the fight for human rights.

The Cover Is No Longer Undercover!

Back in February I told you I was starting to think about the cover for my new album. 

As much as I'm a planner, I'm still an improvising jazz musician at heart, so it wasn't until I received the link to the online photo gallery from my shot with Emma-Lee that I could truly complete my vision for the CD. (Once upon a time there were contact sheets for photo shoots.  Remember when photos were printed on paper?  Weird.)

But now, the photos are chosen.  The artwork is complete.  And my CD Little Hearts has a brand spanking new CD pack to call home: