Mavis 'SWAN' Poole

Artist Information

Biography

The Lady: Crowned “Little Ella” by legendary tromobonist Curtis Fuller, award winning vocalist/composer/lyricist Mavis ‘SWAN’ Poole is generating quite a buzz on the music scene. Swan is graced with an unrivaled brilliance of shattering genre barriers with her rich and smoky sound, and is often compared to vocalists like Erykah Badu, Ella Fitzgerald, Jill Scott, and Abbey Lincoln.

Swan displays her versatility as a complete musician by working amongst the greats in a variety of genres. The vocalist for the Bill Lee big band, (filmmaker Spike Lee’s father), was praised as “Indy’s 2007 Jazz Vocalist to watch”, yet flexible enough to record with Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder & Hip Hop guru Buckshot on a collaboration. She also graces the stage as supporting vocals for soul singer N’Dambi.

HER story: “Bull City’s” finest is the “knee-baby” of five siblings, born and raised in Durham, North Carolina to musically inclined parents, and attended the very prestigious North Carolina Central University. While there, she was in all Choirs & Ensembles, as well as Marching Band, (EL Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma)Recording artist Lenora Zenzalai Helm, and jazz icons Ira Wiggins and Arnold George were just a few of her most impacting mentors as an undergraduate student.

Swan is the recipient of many awards, including Port Townsend Centrum Jazz Festival participant, Betty Carter Jazz Ahead, Sister’s In Jazz (IAJE)(sr&hm), “Indy’s 2007 Jazz Vocalist to watch", and the Featured Artist for music networks like Reverb Nation, Indie Music Universe, and SonicBids.

She went on to work, study, and/or record with Jazz greats like Kurt Elling, Roy Hargrove, Dr. Billy Taylor, Fred Wesley, Nathan Davis, Hubert Laws, Bill Lee, Winard Harper, Jeff Tain Watts, Dee Daniels, John & Jeff Clayton, Curtis Fuller, Chip Jackson, Branford Marsalis, Nancy King, Joey Calderazzo, Carmen Lundy, newcomer Esparanza Spalding, Branford Marsalis, George Cables, and a host of other trendsetting musicians that helped her solidify her unique sound and style. Dianne McIntyre introduced her to collaboration with the dance world, allowing Swan to lend her talents to her rendition of Helen Tamiris’ “How Long, Brethren?” for the 2007 American Dance Festival.
A magna cum laude graduate earning a BA in Music Ed., as well as a BM in Jazz Vocal Studies, Swan is completing her MA at Queens College, where she studies with Antonio Hart, David Berkman, Howard Brofsky, Michael Mossman, and Miles Griffith.

You are warmly invited to continue the lifelong journey with a true swan of vocalists, Ms. Mavis SWAN Poole.

www.SwanVocals.com
ReverbNation.com/Swanvocals
MySpace.com/SwanVocals

Instrumentation

Mavis "SWAN" Poole - Lead Vocals

Discography

ALBUMS
• “SOUL-TREE”, Mavis Poole (produced by Jeremy
BEAN Clemons/Poole)
• “Uncommon Pursuit”, Mavis Poole (Jazz Debut)
(upcoming release TBA)
• “The Best Christmas Feeling” with Marcus Anderson
• “The Forumla” with Buckshot & 9th Wonder
• “Blues and the Verdant Green” with NCCU Jazz Dept.
• “That Christmas Feeling” with Terrance White
• “Do Not Pass Me By” with God’s Voices
• “It Was Good” with Hallie Evans
• “Disguise” with Uncle Jim and the Red Bus Band

SINGLES
“I’ve Got Yo’ Back, (produced by 9th Wonder)
“Rapsody and Swan” (produced by 9th Wonder)

Links

• MySpace
• Facebook
• WEBSITE
• PURCHASE SOUL TREE

Audio

• Just Squeeze Me
  Listen  
• So Uncomfortable (Original)
  Listen  
• Love (original)
  Listen  
• Gonna Make It (radio edit)
  Listen  
• One
  Listen  
• Dance Flo (LIVE)
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Soul Understated f/ Mavis "SWAN" Poole @ BAM Café [+ Show ]
  

  The announcement said to get there by 8:45pm, to get a good seat, but people were standing in the ai...The announcement said to get there by 8:45pm, to get a good seat, but people were standing in the aisles by 8:30pm to catch a glimpse and hear the fierce soul stylings of Soul Understated featuring Mavis "SWAN" Poole. Backed by a eight-person S.W.A.T. team of funk, it would be easy for another singer to get lost amidst the back-up singers, guitars, percussion and brass, but not Ms. Poole, dressed in an orange, off-the-shoulder tee, red belt and a barely-there miniskirt, lookin' as fine as she wanted.
  
  After stirring the pot w/ "Still Water," Soul Understated showed their playful side by takin' us back with their rendition of the Fat Albert theme song and it is not understating it to say its inclusion on the soundtrack may have inspired us to sit through the 2004 film adaptation. Normally, "Feel Good Music" and "Dance Flo'" would have had the crowd up on its feet, but the audience at BAM is generally more subdued and, this evening in particular, the room was so hot that people were breaking a sweat just bobbing their heads and tapping their toes.
  
  Aside from the aforementioned schoolhouse rock, Ms. P. & the gang paid homage to Curtis Mayfield--with an original take on "People Get Ready," arranged by co-director Jeremy "BEAN" Clemons--and Michael Jackson--on a "Rock With You"-infused version of "One." All other tracks, including "Sistagirl," "Truce," "Hot & Bothered," "New Rock" & "Gonna Make It," came straight from the minds and souls of musical co-directors, Clemons and Poole.
  
  Maybe it was the heat, or the vibe in the room or the way Ms. Poole turned what could have been a wail into the most soulful of music, but we couldn't help but to be reminded of Ledisi's early performances, in the basement of San Francisco's Cafe Du Nord. For their part, Soul Understated is a skillful ensemble, adeptly and seemingly effortlessly weaving together soul, jazz, funk and gospel, like so many threads in a tapestry, and Ms. Poole does not miss a beat, adding scat and rap to the mix like the final spices in an excellent gumbo.
  
  If you can't find your way to one of Soul Understated featuring Mavis "SWAN" Poole's performances, you at least owe it to yourself to download her debut album and get in on the ground floor of something great. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/soul-tree-sultry/id332467645
  

• Andy Bey on Mavis 'SWAN' Poole [+ Show ]
  

  "The record is a total bomb. I love the CD. You're a wonderful singer, and the band is smoking. Its ..."The record is a total bomb. I love the CD. You're a wonderful singer, and the band is smoking. Its quite moving. It swings, and has got all the stuff that I like! Mavis, you knocked me out with your soul, sound, voice, and direct honesty, plus great musicianship."

• MPMFestival 2009 on Mavis SWAN Poole [+ Show ]
  

  "Sorry Jill Scott, not so fast Angie Stone, not that we don't love you ladies, but Mavis SWAN Poole ..."Sorry Jill Scott, not so fast Angie Stone, not that we don't love you ladies, but Mavis SWAN Poole is the clear choice for Midpoint. This street wise, world traveled, diva in the making, can sing anything she wants. Smoky jazz club ballad, neo soul funk fest, low rider speaker shaker, Mavis attacks and conquers any style that comes her way. I wonder if Mavis is the reason Lauryn Hill has gone into hiding."

• The late, great Ulysses Slaughter's comments of Swan [+ Show ]
  

  "And of what she sang I know not, but her voice touched every chord of my being; something hand alon..."And of what she sang I know not, but her voice touched every chord of my being; something hand alone cannot make. A voice that takes on many shades and colors, and out pours many musical instruments that all come alive from one being...'ethereal'."

• *2007-INDY's
  

  Mavis SWAN Poole is honored as *2007-INDY's "jazz vocalist to watch".

• Brandon McCune on Swan [+ Show ]
  

  "Mavis is a musician whose soul is in her sound. She knows how to find the story in the song and m...
  "Mavis is a musician whose soul is in her sound. She knows how to find the story in the song and make it MUSIC. It's an adventure you'll always want more of."
  

Setlist

Original Music
"Feel Good Music"
"So Uncomfortable"
"Gonna Make It"
"Sista Girl"
"I'm Ready"
"P's Playground"
"Dance Flo'"
"It's Time Now"
"One"
"Truce"
"Aint Like Dat"
"Real Love?"

Jazz Originals
"Love"
"FRelease"

Jazz Standards
"Body and Soul"
"Invitation"
"Just Squeeze Me"
"Twisted"
"In A Sentimental Mood"
"Caravan"
"My One & Only Love"
"Now's the Time"
"Misty"
"The Nearness of You"
"Åt Last"
"Just Friends"
"The Best Is Yet To Come"
"Fly Me To The Moon"

R&B Covers
"I'm Every Woman"
"Brown Sugar"
"Rock With You"
"Honey"
"Sweet Thang"
"Ex-Factor"
"What's Going On"
"Ålways & Forever"
"Slowly, Surely"
"Doo Wop (That Thang)"
"You Åre the Sunshine Of My Life"
"Åt Last"

Basic Requirements

Calendar