Cynthia Jones

Artist Information

Biography

Cynthia Jones has been crowned the winner of the prestigious 2008 Chuck Niles Jazz Singer competition at the Temecula International Jazz Festival. Her new CD is currently being played on jazz and public radio stations across the US and Canada and on many internet jazz stations as well.

A Los Angeles based vocalist, Cynthia has played jazz and blues with some of L.A.s finest musicians for the last 8 years. Her sultry and sensuous style, which is particularly haunting on ballads, is melodic, very expressive yet understated, and thoughtful, bringing to mind Peggy Lee, Diana Krall and June Christy while offering her own fresh new voice. She brings class and elegance to her stage performance and turns diverse selections into a brand of soulful jazz that is full of heartfelt emotions.

Karen Hammack, is a well respected pianist based in Los Angeles. Her diversity as a player has let her work with such artists as Jackson Brown , Michael McDonald , Bill Frisell , Perla Batalla , Niki Haris , Julie Christensen , Mellisa Manchester and Don Was, to name a few. She also stays busy with jazz artists such as Tierney Sutton , Stephanie Haynes , Larry Koonse ,and Chuck Berghofer. She has traveled the world playing concerts like the Edinburgh Jazz Festival and local Los Angeles treasures like Royce Hall.

David Jackson, bass player extraordinaire, has wowed audiences across the country with his prowess and versatility on bass, piano and accordion. He has played and/or recorded with Hoyt Axton, Jackson Brown, John Denver, Ella Fitzgerald, T-Bone Burnette, Delbert McClinton and Jimmy Buffet to name just a few. Jax was also ready when David Lynch needed an accordionist and, though the show is long off the air, he still relishes being the Official "Twin Peaks" Accordionist.

James Cruce, drummer/percussionist. James was born and raised in Los Angeles. He saw the Beatles on TV when he was 9 years old and wanted to play music. Later duped into pursuing an academic career, he came to his senses at the age of twenty and has been happy ever since. James has played with J.J. Cale, Eric Clapton, Dave Alvin, Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps, The Souleros, The Twilight Lords and Dillon O’Brian among others.

(Lee Thornberg and Dan Sawyer's bios coming soon.)

After a couple of years of playing various shows around the Los Angeles area, Cynthia brought the trio together to record a demo for promotion purposes. The initial tracks sounded so good that they decided to produce the CD for public consumption. With the help of producers, Mel Harker and Terry Wilson, and the added the talents of a some very special guests, session masters: Lee Thornberg, (Tower of Power) who beautifully arranged all the horn parts and played trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and muted trumpet; Tom Peterson, on tenor sax and baritone sax; Tommy Kay, on electric guitar; and Dean Parks on acoustic guitar. They came up with an end product to be very proud of.

Their debut CD, Cynthia Jones & The West Coast Nightlights, is a good-natured, mostly romantic set of songs that is seductive, sultry and sophisticated and is getting rave reviews.

Vivid Sound, a record company in Japan, has licensed the CD and manufactured it with Japaneese liner notes, and it is now for sale throughout the Pacific Rim.

“It’s a perfect record.” - Perla Batalla, Grammy nominated vocalist, composer, and arranger

“Once in a blue moon you find a CD that you put on and program to "repeat"! This is a CD that you can listen to all day (and night) long! Cynthia Jones' voice is truly a magnificent instrument that croons the wonderful selection of songs along with the other fabulous musicians!”
- Ronda Espy, President of EMG Music and Bob-A-Lew Publishing

Check Cynthia's web site: cynthiajonesmusic.com

Instrumentation

Cynthia Jones - Vocal
Karen Hammack - Piano
David Jackson - Stand-Up Acoustic Bass
James Cruce - Drums
**Cynthia performs with all incarnations of the band from duo to 6 pc. or more.

Discography

CYNTHIA JONES & THE WEST COAST NIGHTLIGHTS (2008)
- produced by Mel Harker and Terry Wilson

Official Website

http://www.cynthiajonesmusic.com

Audio

• Baby Baby All The Time
  Listen  
• Caught A Touch Of Your Love
  Listen  
• If I Had You
  Listen  
• Slave To Love
  Listen  
• Up From The Skies
  Listen  
• In A Sentimental Mood
  Listen  
• I Know You Know
  Listen  
• You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
  Listen  
• When Did You Leave Heaven
  Listen  
• Snatch & Grab It
  Listen  
• Sugar In My Bowl
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Cynthia Jones & the West Coast Nightlights [+ Show ]
  

  Cynthia Jones won the 2008 Chuck Niles Jazz Singer competition at the Temecula Internationasl Jazz F...Cynthia Jones won the 2008 Chuck Niles Jazz Singer competition at the Temecula Internationasl Jazz Festival. . . . Her debut jazz recording displays her melodic and sultry singing on vintage jazz and blues. . . . . plus contemporary material by Bryan Ferry, Jimi Hendrix and Lyle Lovett . . . the music is soulful, swinging and a perfect forum for Cynthia Jones' powerful and memorable voice. She clearly has a great future. ...

• Cynthia Jones and the West Coast Nightlights [+ Show ]
  

  .....This CD It is a fine recording and I will start playing tracks from it on my program …. "Voice........This CD It is a fine recording and I will start playing tracks from it on my program …. "Voices in the Dark" is broadcast here in St. Louis every Sunday night from 9:00 to 10:30 PM CST… I know my listeners will enjoy your music as much as I have. We also stream broadcast on the internet so your music will reach a wide audience. .. Thanks again for the CD. Best Wishes.
  Al Becker KDHX 88.1 St Louis, Mo.

• Cynthia Jones [+ Show ]
  

  Just received the new cd. Nice work. It’s a pleasure to hear these great tunes done so well….. Do...Just received the new cd. Nice work. It’s a pleasure to hear these great tunes done so well…..
  Doug Gruber, Jazz Coordinator
  Northeast Indiana Public Radio - WBOI

• Cynthia Jones and the West Coast Nightlights [+ Show ]
  

  “ Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much we like the album at PJR. … the album is ...“ Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much we like the album at PJR. … the album is great. Please keep me up to date on what you're doing.”
  Rich Keith G.M.
  www.purejazzradio.com
  "New York Tonight" 8pm to 11pm EST M-F
  (Rebroadcast 12m to 3am est 7 nights a week)

• Cynthia Jones and the West Coast Nightlights [+ Show ]
  

  Cynthia Jones first caught my attention when her new cd crossed my desk with a sticker attached anno...Cynthia Jones first caught my attention when her new cd crossed my desk with a sticker attached announcing that she was the Chuck Niles Award Winner for 2008 (and Chuck has always been "The Man" among jazz deejays). So her album went to the top of the stack to listen to, and when I listened she REALLY caught my attention. What a great singer, what great arrangements, what great talent backing her up, but mostly she is a singer that has that certain quality to her voice that says "JAZZ". AND the technical prowess to pull off a set of songs that runs the composer's gamut from Bobby Troup, Jimi Hendrix and Lyle Lovett to Cole Porter and Nina Simone.
  I can't stop listening to this album...it is just so good and pleases my ears like nothing I've heard in a long time. She has immediately found herself in rotation on our number one playlist and we will continue to play her and look forward with great anticipation to her next project. Great songs, great singing, great interpretation, great musicians (The West Coast Nightlights) and above all it is great jazz. Thank you, Cynthia
  ...Bob Burns Jazz Librarian and host of "Burnsland" (jazz) KRWG-FM (90.7) (NPR) Las Cruces, NM (and streaming @ KRWGFM-ORG)

Setlist

We have a large repertoire and our sets are usually 45 mins. to one hour long - depending on what is required. We have enough material to do up to five sets. A small sample of titles would be as follows:
MY BABY JUST CARES FOR ME
AUTUMN LEAVES
CAUGHT A TOUCH OF YOUR LOVE
BABY ALL THE TIME
I WONDER
BLUE SKIES
YOUR MIND IS ON VACATION
TO HELL WITH LOVE
SNATCH & GRAB IT
PEEL ME A GRAPE
DEED I DO
MEET ME AT NO SPECIAL PLACE
WHEN DID YOU LEAVE HEAVEN
EASY TO LOVE
I’M BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT
WE LAUGHED AT LOVE
CLOSE YOUR EYES
ANGEL EYES
SLAVE TO LOVE
IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD
MEET ME AT NO SPECIAL PLACE
THAT’S ALL
I LOVE BEING HERE WITH YOU
IN THESE SHOES
PEOPLE GET READY
TROUBLE MAN
ALMOST BLUE
The list of blues songs we perform is extensive. Please contact us for that list.

Basic Requirements

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