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CD
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May
I Suggest?
Debut CD available NOW!
J2 records is proud to announce the CD release of “May I Suggest,” the highly
anticipated debut from acclaimed vocalist Joan Curto. Praised by the Chicago
Sun Times for her “bold, brassy voice,” the recording is a winning collection
of classic ballads, standards and jazz favorites. With Joan’s musical versatility,
the CD is a showcase for what After Dark Chicago calls “a voice that
can pierce the listeners heart as equally as it caresses the ear.” |
Performed in Joan’s heartwarming and emotive vocal styling, May I Suggest features
the classic sounds of Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin and Frank Loesser to the
more contemporary works of Amanda McBroom, Julie Gold, Susan Werner and Don
McLean.
Among the CD’s highlights are Joan’s exciting version of Mr Monotony, along with
a horn section, bringing the dynamics of a big band sound. Her tender reading
of the title cut features the lush sounds of a string quartet. Other standouts
include Joan’s energetic Shakin The Blues Away and the emotional closing song
written by Best Song Grammy Award winner Julie Gold, entitled Goodnight, New
York.
And Joan’s haunting delivery of It Never Entered My Mind, is alone, worth the
reason to own the CD.
Providing the musical backdrop to what the Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express calls
Joan’s “powerhouse of a voice,” are some of the nation’s most sought after musicians,
including Scott Mason on bass and Phil Grattaeu on drums. The multi-talented
Bobby Schiff, Beckie Menzie (recently featured at Carnegie Hall) and After
Dark Award winner Dan Stetzel supply the stunning arrangements, as well as keyboard
duties. Together, they create the glorious musical landscape for May I Suggest.
to order: www.cdbaby.com/joancurto. Just click the link and be directed to order
page
Review: ( my first and hopefully not my last!)
Jeff Rossen, Cabaret Scenes
JOAN CURTO
May I Suggest?
(JJ Music)
Confession: When an artist whose work has been the stuff of many hours of pleasure
comes back with a new offering, there's a mix of anticipation and hesitation
-- anticipation of experiencing some fresh creations; hesitation over the "what
if" of not feeling the joy of the past. And when a favorite performer delivers
a first recording, those feelings are multiplied manyfold. But when Joan Curto's
debut album, May I Suggest?, starts spinning, the latter feeling vanishes
and the former is rewarded over and over again. For those who've followed her
career over the years, May I Suggest? plays as almost a greatest hits package,
revisiting moments from her live performances that have made her one of Chicago's
top cabaret artists. The ease with which she shifts between the jaunty snap of
Comes Love and Happy As the Day Is Long and devastating passion of How
Deep Is the Ocean and It Never Entered My Mind creates a fully colored
portrait of her talent, her inviting guilelessness drawing the listener's ear
and heart close for the confessional beauty and pain in Susan Werner's title
song and Much At All. Has there been a purer, more affecting interpretation of
And I Love You So or a more poignant How Deep Is the Ocean? Not that these ears
have heard. Confession: May I Suggest? will end up high on the list of the year's
best come December. (****) |
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