Irene Atman

Irene Atman
Slide Bar
Sydney, Australia


Slide Bar, Oxford Street is a difficult venue for a jazz vocalist. Blessed with a hi- tech sound system but hindered by a somewhat small and an almost too close stage to audience set up , it is a venue that for the inexperienced could prove a conundrum. But for the Canadian vocalist Irene Atman's only Sydney gig it proved to be no folly. She's no inexperienced vocalist, having sung with the Stan Hiltz Orchestra, The Boss Brass Big Band, as well as Tony Bennett. And she has just released a self-titled CD to rave reviews around the globe.

Atman was on one leg of an extended tour encompassing Japan as well as Australia, a junket supported by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International trade. A singer possessed with a dynamic sense of melodic line and perfect phrasing of gorgeous melodies, she effortlessly conveyed to her audience lyrics of playfulness, joy, deep yearning and serenity according to the momentary requirements of the song's lyric.

Providing exemplary support, her Toronto-based trio mates, Richard Whiteman on piano and Jack Zorawski on bass, were the icing on the cake. It is an increasingly rare pleasure to hear two sensitive players like these with a vocalist of such refined expertise exploring the delusional hopefulness of the incurable romantic and paying such great respect to the timeless melodies of the Great American Songbook. When it happens —it's just pure magic.

Atman's voice is extremely pure, centred and crystalline, using a style reliant on sureness of pitch. When singing standards, she communicates the emotional content perfectly in touch with both song and audience while commanding the stage with a mixture of sweet innocence and no-nonsense musicianship. The high point of the evening was her rendition of the Michel Legrand classic "Summer Me, Winter Me," with an arrangement that perfectly captured the tension of the song's poignant lyrics.

Jazz played antiseptically has little chance of catching fire, but when these three swung hard enough to ignite Bob Haymes' "That's All," "Simple Life" and Frank Loesser's "If I Were A Bell," there was smoke in the house. By the end of the evening Atman had the crowd calling for more! Forget about the venue —there was a real singer in the house!
- All About Jazz - Barry O'Sullivan

While not yet a well known entity in the local Toronto scene, jazz vocalist Irene Atman made a substantial stride in that direction with her concert last Friday evening at the Jane Mallett Theatre.

Born in Toronto, Atman was influenced very early, listening to her father’s old records stored in a box in the fruit cellar. “Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Doris Day -all of the greats. I just loved them”.

Her professional career began at 19, while studying history at the University of Toronto. During that time, Atman sang with the Stan Hiltz Orchestra, recorded with the Boss Brass, and performed with Tony Bennett. She also performed with local stalwarts Guido Basso, Dave Young, Terry Clarke, and Peter Appleyard.

In 2008, she focussed on promoting her self-titled debut CD release and toured Canada and the United States. Along the way, she also made stops in Australia and Japan.

In 2009, Atman relocated to New York City to record her second CD, “New York Rendezvous”. On this recording she is backed by noted NYC musicians Frank Kimbrough (piano), Jay Anderson (bass), Matt Wilson (drums), and Joel Frahm (tenor and soprano saxophones).
In this homecoming concert, she was accompanied by Canadian A-List musicians, Dave Young on bass, Guido Basso on horn (both Order of Canada recipients), Robbi Botos on piano, Rob Piltch on guitar, and Ethan Ardelli on drums.

The performance of predominantly jazz standards began with a gentle swing version of Shall We Dance followed by “Taking a Chance on Love”. In the next offering, “My Foolish Heart”, Guido Basso came on stage and the already high musical atmosphere was set for the evening.

The concert continued to deliver a number of highlights from both Atmans vocals and all of the musicians. On “My Romance”, Atman stepped away, allowing each of the musicians to stretch out on their solos. In a Latin flavoured version of “Charade”, both Piltch and the always imaginative Botos delivered great solos. Atman performed a wonderful, Spanish influenced version of “Shadow of Your Smile” with acoustic accompaniment by Piltch. The first set closed with an up tempo version of “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” with Botos clearly demonstrating that rapid fire tempos and melodic improvisational lines can co-exist.

The second set included a New Orleans blues version of “Glory of Love”, paying homage to her two year stint with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company. The mood of this tune was captured perfectly with Basso’s trumpet. This was followed by a sensitive vocal of Burt Bachrach’s “Alfie”. The regular set ended with “Somos Novios” with Piltch again setting the Spanish backdrop. An encore of “That’s All” ended an evening highly appreciated by an enthusiastic audience.

While traces of her jazz vocalist influences could be heard, Atman has developed her own unique voice. To quote Harvey Siders of JazzTimes, “for a change, Canada sent a wave of WARM air south of the border in the person of Irene Atman”.
Let’s hope she receives the proper recognition at home as well.

For more information on Irene Atman, including her upcoming appearances, visit her website at www.ireneatman.com.

Both of her CD releases “Irene Atman” and “New York Rendezvous” are available through Apple iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon.com
- Cashbox Magazine - Bill McDonald

For a change, Canada has sent a wave of WARM air south of its border in the person of Irene Atman, a comely blonde who occasionally hints at Barbra Streisand's dramatic phrasing while aspiring to a career as jazz vocalist. Will she make it as a swinger? This is only her second recording, but it's clear Ms Atman has the right tools for reaching her goal.

Backed intelligently and respectfully by the jazz-drenched quartet of pianist Frank Kimbrough, bassist Jay Anderson, drummer Matt Wilson and, on most tracks, tenorist-soprano saxophonist Joel Frahm, Atman displays good range ("A Time For Love;") impeccable intonation, even when accompanied by bass only, like the open and close of "Taking A Chance On Love;" a good command of dynamic shadings ("Alfie" and "Two For the Road;") and firm time control ("Charade," against a backing of 3-against-4.) It all comes together on her best track: "Why Did I Choose?"

There are head tones to contend with, a tendency to precede certain vowels with an aspirated "H" sound for dramatic effect, but when she shifts into Streisand-ville, unfolding that articulate instrument with its soothing vibrato and minimal need for breath, who could ask for anything more?

Atman is so right on, she encourages her backing to be rhythmically and harmonically adventurous. Kimbrough can re-harmonize at will; Anderson seldom has to walk: he's free to make comments and fill gaps; Wilson is also able to experiment; and Frahm has a ball in his swinging bi-tonal cosmos. - Jazz Times - Harvey Siders

Vocalist Atman’s voice is rich and emotive. Her delivery is articulate and clear, with a lilting vibrato. Backed by pianist Frank Kimbrough, drummer Matt Wilson, bassist Jay Anderson and saxophonist Joel Frahm, Atman has assembled an all-star crew to let her reinterpret classic tunes like “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Time After Time,” and “Charade.” Her lengthy phrasing is better suited to slower tunes, including “Why Did I Choose You,” a lovely ballad where Atman caresses the melody. When the tempo speeds up and swings, she seems less in her element. Luckily, the rest of her band picks up any slight downward trend here, as Frahm’s inventive soloing proves. Atman is mostly playing to her strengths, including her nearly flawless Spanish accent on “Somos Novios.” When the swing is slower in tempo, as on “Time After Time,” her phrasing works much better. Atman excels on torch songs and ballads, and when she sings them, as on “Alfie,” she is a true talent.
- Jazz Society of Oregon, Kyle O'Brien

http://www.ireneatman.com/images/Irene_Atman_Bangkok_post.pdf - Bangkok Post

Every once in a while, a fresh voice comes along that's worthy of notice. Or, in the case of Irene Atman, it's an experienced voice with a fresh interpretation of classics.

When other children wanted to hear bedtime stories or have parents sing them to sleep, Atman sang to herself. By the age of seven, she'd become attached to the recordings of Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Peggy Lee, among others. As a young adult, she began singing professionally, including a two-year stint as an entertainer for the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. Now, Atman brings her style to some classics with New York Rendezvous, backed by the quartet of Frank Kimbrough on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, Matt Wilson on drums and Joel Frahm on saxophone.

The musicians begin softly on "Two for the Road." Atman's sultry alto delivers the lyrics with subtle but distinctive inflections. Kimbrough solos, with Anderson and Wilson complimenting. Frahm also solos. Atman returns for the selection's closing sequence, emphasizing certain roads with finely tuned vibrato.

"Why Did I Choose You" is the longest selection on the album and for good reason. Atman sings this melancholy piece with a vocal dexterity equivalent to a flute that can speak words. It's often difficult to tell that she's taken a breath, as she seamlessly moves from one sustained note to the next phrase.

While "Charade" again focuses on Atman's skills, the arrangement takes the musicians a bit off the proverbial beaten path. Frahm solos on soprano saxophone while Kimbrough, Anderson and Wilson seemingly ad-lib in the background. Each seems to be on a different course, yet they're all journeying together. Things intensify when saxophone and piano take turns driving. The song ends with Atman's sustained flute-like fade, followed by a piano roll by Kimbrough.

Singing requires not only control of pitch, amplitude and breath, but also enunciation. Atman excels in all areas, particularly the latter. The combination of these arrangements and Atman's exceptional control ensure that New York Rendezvous isn't just another collection of standards - All About Jazz - Woodrow Wilkins

Irene Atman / St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Jane Mallett Theatre / Toronto, Canada / April 16th, 2010
There are certain singers who come on stage and sing their songs well, even emotively, while establishing a connection with their audiences, and then there are vocalists, like jazz chanteuse Irene Atman who own the stage and who so totally embrace the moment that they sweep their audiences away to another place and another time with their music. On April 16th at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto, Canada, with a beautiful smile, Irene Atman immediately conveyed to her fans that for these few moments we have to spend together, ‘I want to know you, and you, and yes you, intimately, not in a sexual way, but as friends, as I share with you a magical and romantic experience.’

As the first set opened, the ensemble consisting of extraordinary upright bassist, Dave Young, splendid pianist Robi Botos, guitarist Rob Piltch and drummer Ethan Ardelli, played for a few minutes, before the blond haired Ms. Atman walked out on stage, dressed in black slacks, a black three-quarter length jacket and black open-toe five inch heels and waved to her audience. Irene Atman’s first song was extended as an invitation to her fans, as she chose Oscar Hammerstein’s “Shall We Dance,” which established the romantic ambience that would be a common thread throughout the evening, and was a song that she recorded on her 2007 self-titled album.

Whereas some singers feel the need to be theatrical, Ms. Atman does not have to resort to such sideshows, because the very tonality of her vocals provide the various hues for the lyrical images that she brings to life. It is therefore, not surprising that she infused the Vernon Duke / Ted Fetter and John Latouche standard “Taking a Chance on Love,” with all the whimsical notions of a woman in love. In succession, there was a bass, piano and guitar solo, before Ms. Atman brought this cheery song to a conclusion. “Taking a Chance On Love,” appears on her new album New York Rendezvous. One quality of Irene Atman’s singing that is not as easily detected on her recordings, as it is in concert, relates to her powerful vocals, as she easily climbs the register and she has a big voice that fills up a room, but in a quiet sort of way, if that makes any sense.

Prior to introducing Victor Young and Ned Washington’s “My Foolish Heart,” a song that became a million selling hit for Billy Eckstine, Irene Atman introduced her special guest, trumpeter Gudio Basso, who walked out on stage with his flugelhorn tucked under his arm. Mr. Basso added warmth to the music, much like you experience when you draw close to a fireplace, and during his solo the notes flowed gently from his flugelhorn. Guido Basso would remain on stage for the rest of the set and he rejoined the ensemble and Ms. Atman during the second set of her concert.

The concert was turned over to the charming Mr. Basso for the fourth song, “My Romance,” and Ms. Atman left the stage. One does not usually think of drummers playing elegantly, but the description befits Ethan Ardelli’s playing for this tune, as he used his brushes lightly on his snare drum and cymbals, making minimal use of his toms, and guitarist Rob Piltch provided an exquisite accompaniment.

Ms. Atman’s girl next door charm was evident as she cooed Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You,” “When you’re in my arms / And I feel you so close to me / All my wildest dreams / Come true.” Irene Atman’s smile melts you, her phrasing enchants you and her sophistication keeps the music from being trivialized.

Next, Irene Atman introduced another song from her New York Rendezvous album, “Charade,” and one notices that during the times when her band is playing and she is not singing, that Ms. Atman demonstrates an almost childlike innocence, as the stage becomes her playground and she takes obvious delight in the music.

Other highlights from the first set included Johnny Mandel’s “The Shadow of Your Smile,” also known as the “Love Theme from The Sandpiper,” with lyrics by Paul Webster and then Ms. Atman performed an elegant jazz interpretation of the Lennon / McCartney song “All My Loving.”

Ms. Atman opened her second set with the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart standard “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” from the musical Too Many Girls (1939). Now dressed in a long, beautifully embroidered red velvet jacket, she proudly announced that she has slipped into shoes that only had a four inch heel.

As Ms. Atman comfortably segued from her remarks to the audience, into Michel Legrand’s “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” (lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman), the listener gets the sense that if you have a special anniversary or you are about to pop the big question and propose, or even perhaps next year on Valentine’s Day, that attending one of Irene Atman’s concerts would provide the perfect ambience, for such an occasion.

It came as a surprise to this writer while Ms. Atman was introducing the song “The Glory of Love,” from her new album that she talked about living on a riverboat in New Orleans for two years. With a nod to the musicians of New Orleans, Irene Atman served up a soulful and bluesy rendition of the song and Guido Basso brought the house down with a spectacular, half muted trumpet solo. Pianist Robi Botos stirred up the audience with his nimble solo. “The Glory of Love,” until this point in the evening, brought the most enthusiastic and almost raucous response from Ms. Atman’s fans.

Although, Ms. Atman was strong on “Give Me the Simple Life,” and Burt Bacharach’s song “Alfie,” it was her performance, in Spanish of the bolero “Somos Novios,” (“It’s Impossible”) that marked the pinnacle of the second set. For the first one third of the song, Irene Atman’s only accompaniment was Rob Piltch on acoustic guitar and Ethan Ardelli on shakers, and then the rest of the musicians gradually joined in.

Irene Atman’s performance at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in the Jane Mallett Theatre was breathtaking and it was a world class performance, in a venue whose acoustic qualities are well suited to an artist with such outstanding gifts.
April 16th, 2010

- Riveting Riffs, Joe Montague

Irene Atman's cover of "More Today Than Yesterday,” by Spiral Staircase, from her soon to be released album is the best vocal performance Riveting Riffs Magazine has heard this year. Ms. Atman’s vocals are breathtakingly beautiful, the arrangement is lush, the production superb and the musicians are magnificent. Irene Atman’s singing of “More Today Than Yesterday,” has the WOW factor big time! If a song can seduce you, this one, by this lady, certainly does just that.
Ms. Atman, a prolific performer and songwriter, from Toronto, Canada is set to release her new album, which features some of her own songs, plus a good mix of tunes that pay homage to mostly female singers from the 1960s. She took a few moments to sit down with us to talk about the record and her music career.
Irene Atman, who most music fans know as a Jazz singer says, “This is a new direction for me, and for the past year I have been in the studio writing music. I wanted to do something different with my music so I got together with producer / arranger/ music director Glenn Morley, and executive producer Bruce Barrow, who provided creative direction for the CD. All three of us have interesting backgrounds. Glenn has an orchestral background - he works in film and he is the president of the Glenn Gould Foundation. Bruce Barrow has a Pop background. Bruce is a marketing consultant with Live Nation and he also managed Platinum Blonde back in the eighties. And I have a Jazz background. When the three of us got together we wanted to keep the Jazz, because that is where my influences are, but I also had female singer influences from (people) who were popular in the fifties and the sixties and who sang Jazz - which was the popular music of the day. I thought about what I could do to expand further, from just the standard Jazz. Taking this new direction has a fuller sound with strings and horns. The genre is Adult Contemporary / Jazz, and not only do I include Jazz, but I include Pop crossover, some Blues and Soul. As I said, it has a very retro sixties sound, paying homage to the sixties vocalists like Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey and that is the direction that we wanted the CD to go.”
Bruce Barrow weighs in on the conversation, “Irene embraces the purity of the song’s melody and yet makes it her own, using her gifted phrasing and vocal range. I met her music director and arranger Glenn Morley and the three of us experimented in the studio with material that bridges the gap between Jazz, Pop and Blues. We also liked the idea of the retro swinging sixties. It was a time in music history when British female solo artists who grew up with Jazz brought these influences to their Pop songs. Irene does a tribute to three icons of that era, Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black and Petula Clark. Irene does a Jazz version of Blondie’s “Call Me,” and “I Love You More Today Than Yesterday,” by Spiral Staircase, along with writing six original songs on the album, as well as her take on some Jazz classics.”
What is it about those ladies whose songs lit up the airwaves in the 1960s that Irene Atman finds appealing? “That’s an easy answer. They were all about the melody and the lyrics and that’s what I’m about really. It’s the emotion and the way that they sang the songs. There are some wonderful Jazz singers out there today and I love the work that they do, but they do a lot of things with their vocals and they move around in the song a lot. Sometimes they lose the melody and sometimes they come back to the melody. Because of the influences that I have had, I move around a little bit, but I always stick to the melody and I concentrate on the lyrics. That’s one of the first things that a lot of my fans say when they hear my music, ‘She actually sings the melody and it is so wonderful to hear that.’ It’s great for me to hear that from the fans and that’s what I am all about. That’s what I grew up with.”
There is not a weak link to this still to be named album, as it boasts beautiful lush arrangements by Glenn Morley who also conducted the horns and strings, superb musicianship featuring pianist Danny McErlain, drummer Don Lowe and Bruce Barrow on bass. The album was recorded at the Jack Lenz Studios. There are several other musicians who also appear on this album.
The trio of songs that nod to the British ladies of the sixties are, “a Dusty Springfield song, “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me,” Petula Clark’s, “I Know A Place,” and the third one was the Cilla Black, “It’s For You.” It’s interesting, because Lennon and McCartney wrote this tune specifically for Cilla Black and I really didn’t know that much about Cilla Black until my producer Bruce mentioned her and started talking about her. I hadn’t heard her recording and we were thinking about how great it would be if we did a mashup with Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.” The time signatures in that work beautifully and it has that sixties sort of James Bond / Shirley Bassey sound to it,” says Ms. Atman.
The song “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” has an interesting history, as Irene Atman explains, “Cilla Black released it in the U.K. and it was her biggest hit. She released it just weeks before Dionne Warwick did, so Cilla had a hit in the U.K. and then Dionne released it, and Dionne had a hit in the U.S . Both of them became well known as the owners of this tune. It’s a wonderful tune. I said to the piano player Danny McErlain, ‘Holy cow look at the time signatures - they change every two bars. When you are listening to the song you don’t really see that the rhythm changes all of the time and for a singer that’s a really interesting song to sing, and not only that, it has a beautiful melody and the lyrics are wonderful. We had a chance to have some fun with some background vocals, which were all me.”
She says, “We specifically geared this CD to women, because we know that women are looking for this kind of music and they are still the ones that are buying music and going out to live performances. Right now the industry is very youth focused so we thought there was a real need and a market in this kind of music, so we thought this would be a wonderful direction to go. I wrote six original songs on this CD that appeal to women and “Fast Lane,” is one of them. It was based on an experience that I had on Facebook and probably one that a lot of women have on Facebook. It was a chance encounter, which led to a conversation with this man and his description of his jet set lifestyle. It sounded pretty wild to me, but it inspired me to write the song. It really is a satire about meeting people online and some of the games that we play. I had fun writing that song. When that happened, I thought oh my goodness this is going to make a great song and I sat down and in half an hour I wrote it. The stuff that he was telling me was just wild about his lifestyle. I am sure a lot of women hear things on Facebook so they will get a big chuckle out of this. I was touring in Asia last September, and I tried it out. Every time I sang the beginning of the song, I got a big laugh, because everybody relates to it.” “
One of the first songs that I wrote for this CD is called “Head Over Heels,” and it is a song about women’s love affair with shoes. I think it is just a matter of getting this song out there and letting women hear it, because women are insane about shoes and nobody has ever really written a song about it. I had a lot of fun with this song,” she says.
If not for a game of hide and seek, and at a time as a young girl, when Irene Atman picked too good of a hiding place to be found, her life might have taken another direction. “I was about seven years old and we were playing in the basement. I was hiding behind some boxes and I was falling asleep waiting for somebody to find me, so I started looking through the boxes and (my father) had all of these amazing albums from the thirties, forties and fifties. I asked him if he would play them for me, he did and I was hooked. I just sat day after day in the basement listening to all of these wonderful performers and that’s how I got into the Jazz era. You couldn’t beat Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. You don’t want to mimic someone else, but you are going to be influenced by who you listen to at a very young age.”
Jazz was not the only influence on the young Irene Atman, “I loved the way that Petula Clark was so crisp in her lyrics and it was so easy for her to sing, and the way that Dusty Springfield had such emotion in her voice. Frank Sinatra bent certain notes - the way he held certain notes - all of that stays with you and you try to create your own sound, but the influences are always there.”
When she was about thirteen years old, sitting beside a friend and playing the piano while singing, that Ms. Atman first started thinking about singing professionally. The friend was the one who provided the initial encouragement. University followed then a few years spent as a professional singer aboard cruise ships, before she eventually moved to New Orleans and performed on the riverboats.
“Southern charm is alive and well in New Orleans and that was the first thing that I noticed. I was very lucky and I have some great memories. The southern way of life is very, very different and I loved it,” she says.
In 2007 Irene Atman released her first CD, which simply bore her name, and two years later she came out with the beautiful New York Rendezvous. But the album that she will soon be releasing is by far her best, and it is the best album of any genre to come out of Canada in several years.
Please visit the website for Irene Atman
Interviewed by Joe Montague
This interview is protected by copyright © and may not be reproduced in print or on the internet or through any other means without the written permission of Riveting Riffs Magazine, All Rights Reserved
- Riveting Riffs, Joe Montague

Jazz music is like catnip to Irene Atman, when she rubs her vocals all around its creamy lathers and emits sensual purrs as if the music is an aphrodisiac that she cannot resist. Jazz calls to Atman like bees swarm to honey, barnacles attach to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, or lightning strikes are drawn to metal. She admits that her attraction to jazz music stems from, “The rhythm, the harmonics and the freedom to make up your own ideas…..and playing with people doing the same thing. What I love about jazz is the freedom of expression it allows you…….you can take a straight-ahead song like Charade – a waltz - and really make it swing. I once read that “Jazz is the art of expression set to music”. That is so true….it’s all about emotion and that’s why jazz resonates with me the most. I was classically trained on the piano and I was playing very structured music but it just didn’t swing for me and I had that inclination in me early on in life, so it was only natural that I gravitated to jazz. It didn’t hurt that my father had this huge record collection I used to listen to every minute of the day. But singing jazz allows me to let my emotions out…..let my guard down and feel free.”
Atman’s sophomore album, New York Rendezvous honors the beauty of classic jazz numbers branded in easy listening regalia of down-feathered vocals and streaks of liquid-fires in the instrumentation. Her rendition of Henry Mancini’s “Charade” is a sample of Atman’s timeless elegance. It’s a song that she remembers fondly, “Oh yes, the 60’s, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and Henry Mancini. Charade is such a haunting melody and Mancini was such a master. He is one of my favourite composers and it’s interesting that I have 2 of his songs on the CD – ‘Two for the Road’ and ‘Charade.’ My first CD, I had a couple of Michel Legrand tunes….I like to choose a favorite composer and do a couple of their tunes, so I thought about other Mancini songs that would work for my voice and ‘Charade’ immediately came to mind. It’s a waltz and works beautifully as a jazz waltz. Frank liked the idea of doing the song right away and what came out of the studio was pure collaboration…no arrangement and one take…everybody listening and playing off each other….what a rush.“
Atman also delves into the softly spangled bossa nova motifs of “Somos Novios,” which she wanted for the album. She recalls, “Yes, I do remember the first time I heard this song. I was about 11 years old and my mother had an old Vicki Carr album I used to listen to all the time. I loved it…I didn’t know what she was singing about but the melody was beautiful and she sang it with such emotion. The song did sound familiar to me…. it was only later on I learned that the song was originally written in Spanish and had been translated into English…very bad English I might say and recorded by Perry Como – called ‘It’s Impossible.’ When I was thinking about songs for the CD, I wanted to include something with a bossa nova feel. I thought about ‘Somos Novios’ and decided to find out what the original Spanish lyrics meant….. it has nothing to do with the words ‘It’s Impossible.’ The song is about the intimacy between 2 lovers and I knew this was a song I could get my audience to connect with emotionally if not with the words, then with the approach we took with the song. I told Frank I wanted the song to sound as if I were singing to my lover in bed….that I wanted the audience to really feel that intimacy and to feel as if I were whispering in their ear….I think it works. The funny story about this song is when we pulled it out for the recording, Frank had mistakenly titled the chart ‘It’s Impossible,’ instead of ‘Somos Novios.’ You could almost hear this inaudible gasp of horror from the musicians and even the engineer when they thought they were going to have to play ‘It’s Impossible.’ When the song was over, there was not only a huge sigh of relief, but it was as if the guys were discovering the song for the first time….’that’s a gorgeous song” was the first words out of Matt Wilson…..Frank and I just smiled.’’”
She expresses that the songs which she chose for the recording all meant something special to her. “Most of the songs on the CD,” she tells, “I grew up listening to. I fell in love with the music, the lyrics and the artists who performed them. Now the interesting thing is that I had never performed these songs before entering the studio. It’s kind of something I discovered about myself with my first CD, and I know it sounds odd, but there’s just a freshness and spontaneity that happens with the unknown. Does that make sense?” she poses to audiences.
She discerns, “All I know is something more emotional comes out of me in the studio because of it. With the musicians I’m really discovering the song for the first time. And it’s the anticipation of what’s going to happen when the music starts and that first note comes out…there’s really no feeling like it. Many of the songs I chose because of their intimacy….I think ‘Why did I choose you’ is one of the most intimate and tender songs I’d ever heard…it’s the ultimate love song…’why did I choose you…what did I see in you, I saw a heart you hide so well….the lyrics are simple, tender and beautiful and it’s one of those songs that’s not heard enough. ‘Alfie’….probably one of the best songs ever written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach - beautiful, beautiful harmonics. ‘Two for the Road’ by Henri Mancini I chose because it was the first song I heard Frank play 20 years after I met him and I fell in love with what he did with it…I knew I had to include that in the CD.” And ‘A Time For Love’ has a special meaning for me because it was the song that Tony Bennett sang to me in the back of a limo so many years ago in Toronto. Now there’s a story,” she interjects.
She proceeds, “I had the great opportunity to open for Tony Bennett early in my career. We were driving in from the airport together in a limo and Mr. Bennett leaned over and said, ‘Irene, I’ve got a great song for a young singer to sing…it goes like this’…and he started singing ‘A Time For Love’ to me in the back of the limousine…a memory I will never forget. There was one song I decided not to include on the CD. We recorded “I could write a book” and I felt it just wasn’t the right fit for the CD….I also didn’t like my vocals on it, although Frank felt I was being too hard on myself. But I think I made the right choice.”
She explains how she and her keyboardist Frank Kimbrough became friends, and why she wanted to work with him on the recording of New York Rendezvous. “Frank and I first met in Miami on a cruise ship more than 20 years ago – Frank is from North Caroline and me from Toronto, Canada. We were so young, right out of school, starving artists with a mutual love for jazz. I knew he was a genius then and although I had to sing a lot of show tunes on that ship, I took any and every opportunity to sing jazz with Frank. I used to come down to the main ballroom during the day because I knew Frank would be there by himself playing the piano. I would quietly listen to him and be ‘floored’ by the emotion and sensitivity in his playing. One day I actually got up the nerve to ask him to write me an arrangement for ‘My Foolish Heart.’ I remember him telling me that he doesn’t really write arrangements and that he would think about it and couldn’t promise anything. Well, the next thing I knew, Frank had called me back into that ballroom and pulled out this amazing arrangement of ‘My Foolish Heart’ which I still have to this day. What is so wonderful about working with Frank is his generosity in his playing. He is always original in his ideas and always developing. He plays with such sensitivity and I just feed off of that. He anticipates where I’m going and then at times leads me…..I can hear him offering ideas through his playing while I’m singing….it’s such an intimate relationship between a vocalist and her pianist and when that’s apparent, the audience knows it because the singer and pianist become the heart and the soul of the tune. I am so very privileged to work with Frank and to call him my friend.”
Kimbrough brought along a handful of talented musicians to play on Atman’s album, including bassist Jay Anderson, drummer Matt Wilson, and saxophonist Joel Frahm. She describes the recording experience with sheer enthusiasm. “Okay this is a cliché, but it was a dream come true to work with these amazing musicians. Frank told me he works with these guys all the time and all the stars just seemed to align for me that day in the recording studio because they were all available for the 6 hour session in Brooklyn. I was a little nervous with all the talent in the room but these guys were so sweet to me that the nerves faded away quickly. What I enjoyed most about playing with them was their ability to create off the floor, play off each other and just have a great time doing it. They made it easy for me to do the same thing in my approach to my songs……I felt a real freedom to explore different sounds and really connect emotionally. Jay Anderson is such an imaginative player with great ideas….and his playing is so melodic. I would love to do a ballad with him - just voice and bass. Matt Wilson – wow, what a unique drummer. Here’s a guy who was coming up with such different sounds and ideas for the session. Matt’s genius was behind “I’m a Fool to want you”. He came up with that steady cymbal beat that made the sound so unique – beautiful, quiet and understated. I loved working with Joel Frahm….he’s a very intuitive player and was listening closely to what I was doing. My emotions lie deep when singing ballads and the way Joel played, particularly in solos, I felt as if he was swept up in the emotion with me. Playing with these guys was a real life-changing experience for me…another cliché I know, but I sang better because of them.”
She notes that “We had no arrangements. Frank and I both agreed that we wanted a live feel to the CD as if recorded right off the floor…in fact it was recorded right off the floor…..almost every tune we recorded on that session was one take….no lush arrangements, no chance of over-producing, – just creative juices at work – a complete collaboration. How can it be any better than that? And nobody got in anyone’s way because everyone of these guys are such generous players.”
The title of the album, New York Rendezvous summarizes Atman and her band’s symbiotic relationship, drawing comparisons to the organic chemistry that New York City jazz musicians had during the genre’s heyday. She discusses that the impetus for the recording was her need to honor old-school jazz that once rang through the corridors of New York City’s music halls. “After having some success with my first CD,” she determined, “I knew the next step for me was to go to New York to record my 2nd CD. I really wanted a distinct ‘New York’ sound with New York musicians and the only New York musician I knew was Frank Kimbrough, whom I had worked with on cruise ships years ago. I hadn’t seen Frank for over 20 years. I didn’t even know if he would remember me. So I googled him, and the next thing I knew, I was having dinner with him at Alfredo’s on 45th street and talking about recording my next CD. Before dinner was over, Frank offered to help produce the CD for me and I was over the moon. I knew back on the cruise ships that Frank was a genius and having him partner with me on this project was really a dream come true. This CD is all about Frank and I getting back together in New York, so New York Rendezvous was the perfect title.”
When Atman sings jazz, it is like she was divined to perform on this stage. She reflects, “I really get lost in the song, particularly in ballads, so the only thing I’m thinking about is what the song is saying, what the music is making me feel. When I sing a song, I’m telling a story, delivering a message – whether it’s about love, heartbreak, tenderness…it’s all emotion. If a vocalist has this emotional connection to a song, the audience feels it immediately and is able to experience that same emotional connection. I think that is the greatest gift you can give anyone and a large part of why I sing. Life is hard enough as it is and if I can give someone just one moment of an emotion they may have felt in the past –it’s that moment that makes them forget about how hard life can be. Music is so full of memories – you remember the song that was playing when you had your first kiss, your first love, your first child….if I can do that for people through my songs, then it really makes everything worthwhile for me….it may sound a little corny, but it’s absolutely the way I feel.”
She assesses that singing in the studio places a different set of demands on her from singing in concert. She remarks, “Very different in many ways. When you sing in the studio, you really need to find your studio voice….you need to be more subtle in your approach in the studio because the microphones are so sensitive and everything gets picked up from the clicking of your tongue to the popping of your ‘p’s. When you’re on stage, you need to project to the back of the room…not only your voice, but your persona as well, so it’s very different. What I like about the studio is the intimacy and the lack of inhibition to really let your emotions show in the song. The luxury of experimenting with new ideas and creating something different. You can achieve that on stage but it varies really, depending on the room and the audience. What I like about performing on stage is the reaction you get from the audience and how you can feed off each other emotionally. There’s nothing like the feeling when you know you’re performing a song and you’ve got the audience hanging on every word…when you can hear a pin drop…….it really is almost like an out of body experience… I don’t know how else to explain it, but there are moments when I feel as if I’m watching myself….it’s quite a feeling…ask any singer, I think most will tell you the same thing.”
Atman learned a great deal about singing in a way that pleases audiences from her mentors, whom she cites, “Tony Bennett was a huge mentor to me although I only got to know him for a few days. He taught me that you always needed to respect your audience…not to be self-indulgent and to sing what your audience wanted to hear….but sing good music and do it in your own way. He taught me about grace and generosity and kindness. Tony Bennett holds a special place in my heart for me because I started listening to his albums when I was very young. When I was 13 years old, I got a job as a banquet waitress at the local Holiday Inn so I could afford to go see Tony Bennett perform at the Imperial Room in downtown Toronto. I would take my very hard-earned $25.00 which was a fortune to me at that time, take the subway downtown and sit at the back of the room with my ginger ale to watch the master at work. It was really a thrill to see him live. I did that for as many years as I can remember but never met Mr. Bennett until I had the great fortune to open for his show in Toronto 10 years later…..it’s that lucky star over my head again. That’s when Mr. Bennett gave me his phone number in New York and told me to give him a call when I got to New York. Well as life sometimes goes, it took me a little longer to get to New York than I expected. But I held on to that phone # for many years and when I got to New York last year, it took me 2 months before I had the nerve to even think about calling him. Frank Kimbrough kept saying, what are you waiting for, call him. So I finally got the courage to dial the number and waited while the phone rang, not knowing what, if anything I was going to say if by some miracle Tony Bennett actually picked up the phone. I heard a click, took a gasp and waited while the voice on the other end said, ‘I’m sorry, this line has been disconnected.’ Well, I wasn’t surprised, it’s been a few years, but I’m optimistic….I have a feeling our paths will cross again, soon….I think it’s in the stars.”
Atman learned at an early age to believe in the stars. She remembers, “My mother used to tell me that I was born under a lucky star because so many good things always happened to me, but I think it has more to do with attitude, how you live your life, how you treat people….the more good you put out there, the more good you get back. It’s an old adage, but it’s absolutely true. My fortune is in meeting and working with truly good human beings, people who are examples of how the rest of us should act and think. Respect, generosity, compassion, humor, love, kindness….all of that I try to strive for in everything I do and because of it, I feel I’m really lucky in life…good things just seem to happen for me. It’s true what they say…once you know what you are meant to do in this life, the universe conspires to give it to you. Well, I’m a great example….girl from Canada goes full circle and finds herself in New York living her dream…it’s not an easy road, but it’s a road I wouldn’t miss for anything…..so, yes I do think I’ve been very lucky in life. And I know that influences my singing 100%, in the songs that I choose, the musicians I work with, the audiences that come to hear me. Life is good, life is great and it’s what we make of it.”
Irene Atman tells that she began singing even before she was out of diapers. She recalls, “My parents tell me I started singing before I started talking….everything was a song to me but I think my first recollection was when I was about 7 years old lying in bed listening to my father’s stereo in the living room. He played all the greats and I would sing along with the records for hours…it would literally drive my father crazy, but I couldn’t help myself, it was in my blood. I knew at a very young age that I was going to be a singer. I started playing the piano at 7 years old so with the piano books came the songbooks. I was always the first to volunteer for school musicals and church basement productions but I actually started singing professionally when I was 19 years old. My girlfriend in high school had a brother who played the saxophone and she kept telling me to sing for him. Turns out he played in the hottest jobbing band in the city at the time and luck smiled down on me when the Stan Hiltz Orchestra asked me to join the band. I had no experience, no formal voice lessons, just a natural sound that audiences seemed to really like. It wasn’t until I left the band to work on the cruise ships that I really started singing more jazz…all those poor starving jazz musicians I met were a great influence on me. As for vocal lessons, I never really took any. I went to a coach once to find out the right way to breathe but always remembered what a musician once told me……you have a natural voice, so be careful about singing lessons…don’t let anyone try to change you. So in essence, I taught myself, mostly by listening to singers like Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Doris Day – she had such an easy, calming way to her singing that I liked. I also listened to horn players…..I read once that Frank Sinatra learned his breathing by listening to Tommy Dorsey play his trombone, so I started listening more to horns and how they held their notes, bending them in the middle……working in the band was really a great learning experience for me. I did have one trick that I used to improve my breathing with so I could hold those really long notes…..I used to listen to Sarah Vaughan, Cleo Laine even early Streisand albums while working out on an exercise bicycle. I would sing along to these songs, holding the notes as long as I could while spinning on the bicycle….now that’s a great way to build up your breathing chops.”
She recollects, “Not one person in my family is musically inclined. In fact most of them are tone-deaf, so I have no idea where I got my talent from…..must have skipped a generation. I have 2 sisters who took piano lessons with me and we had a very honest piano teacher who told my parents not to waste their money on my sisters because they had no talent, so I was the one always entertaining everyone. My parents have always been supportive of my music, proud of my accomplishments and always wished me great success, However, my father, who by the way is literally tone-deaf really influenced me at an early age. He loves music and he’s the reason why there was music in the house all the time. He paid for my piano lessons, bought me songbooks and encouraged me to perform for anyone who would sit and listen. He had a collection of old LP’s from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s that were hidden away in the basement for years until I discovered them when I was 7 years old while playing hide’n seek in the fruit cellar. I pulled them out and he played them for me – Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day….what a way to spend my childhood. My friends were rocking out on Elton John and I was in the basement with Billie, Frank and Tony.”
She reminisces about her early musical experiences and catalogs them as, “Singing in church choirs, school musicals, church basement productions, performing in the living room for friends and family….my life was filled with music and performing. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t either playing the piano or singing a song. But I do remember the first time I realized I actually could sing. When I was about 13 years old, I was fooling around on the piano with my girlfriend and we were singing together…..the song was Goldfinger and I decided to sing it like Shirley Bassey. In the middle of the song, my girlfriend stopped singing and started listening to me. I stopped and asked her what was wrong…she said nothing, you just really have a great singing voice…you really do. You should be a singer, she said. So that was the first time I really thought about pursuing a career in singing. I was on stage when I was 7 years old in the musical Snow White…I was the lead in the school musical 2 years in a row, so performing was always in my blood.”
Times have changed since Atman first started singing in church choirs and school recitals, and she has adapted to the shifts in the music currents. She comments, “Yes, I think the music industry has changed since I first started out as a singer. Getting a record label to sign you was the first thing most singers would think about but now that’s not particularly true. Many artists are independent like myself, managing their careers like myself and moving up the ranks slowly but surely. Technology now allows you to market yourself more easily – social marketing is huge – Facebook, Myspace, internet radio help to get new artists more exposure. It’s always been a tough road and I think it’s tougher now for a couple of reasons. One is because there are just so many more artists trying to make a career for themselves in the music business and the other is simply that times are just harder. People just aren’t going out as much so a lot of venues are closing down and musicians/singers are scrambling to get work. I don’t know many singers or musicians these days who don’t have a day gig – whether it’s teaching or working in an office. But the love of the music keeps us going. I keep singing the music I love because it’s really feels unnatural to me to do anything other than jazz. Early in my career, I did the top-40’s thing, I did the showtunes, Dixieland, even dabbled in some country, but jazz has always a part of my soul and I got to the point where I decided I was only going to sing the music that I loved because what’s the point otherwise? You need to love what you’re doing. If that means I have to have a day gig for awhile, then that’s what it is. I’m hoping that this new CD will get some notice and more work will come my way. For independent artists like myself, it’s really not about selling CD’s…it’s about getting noticed, about getting known, so you get to work with the best musicians and you get to sing the best music.”
Irene Atman has a voice that was divined to sing jazz just as assuredly as was Tony Bennett, Shirley Bassey, Vicki Carr, or any other vocalist born with the timeless elegance that Atman possesses. Her singing recalls of jazz music’s iconic figures showing a glint of modern brushstrokes. Atman is more than a pretty vocalist. She enables audiences to feel the lyrics and become a part of the stories being told in the songs. Atman is lucky indeed to have a voice that penetrates into the fibers of people’s souls, and fill them with good vibes that will last them a lifetime
- Artist Interview - Jazz Review, Susan Frances

The last time I saw Irene Atman, we were both in New York. Me on business, she was working on a new album. Excited about it - something to the effect of, “I can’t believe we’re pulling together such a great bunch of cats to work on this!” Most of that quote is as I remember it - but I’m absolutely accurate in her use of the word, “cats.”
Because I remember thinking - that’s sort of old school.
And very cool.
The result is this disc that’s reminiscent of those classic live recordings from the sixties…a small backing band, a little formal. All that’s missing is the clinking of glasses and the smoke.
Ms. Atman writes that she wanted a “…distinctly New York sound” for the recording. She recruited an old pal, Pianist Frank Kimbrough, who produced, and he grabbed some of his pals - the previously-mentioned “cats” - for the effort. That’s what she was so excited about the day we met.
Well, the good news is that it all paid off.
Ms. Atman’s style is intimate and classy. I listen a lot with an old pair of studio headphones, and it can sometimes sound like she’s about an inch away from my ear, as it did on “Somos Novios,” one of my favorite tracks from this disc of standards. No scoops here, just spot-on intonation, power that’s very controlled - and range that’s eye-widening. Listen and do your own comparisons - they’re easy to make. If you’re not familiar with her work, you’ll still swear you’ve heard her voice before. But Ms. Atman’s earlier (2007) disc is in such heavy rotation on my iPod that for me, she’s an original.
Mr. Kimbrough has a light touch on the keyboard that never, ever overpowers - and is a perfect complement to Ms. Atman’s intimacy. He takes a nice turn on “The Glory of Love.” Joel Frahm on tenor sax, with solos on several stretches - but the one I liked best was on the track, “Why Did I choose You?” Matt Wilson on Drums and Jay Anderson on Bass round out the group. Top-notch.
This disc is a gem. Classy stuff from a very classy woman and her cats. Late at night, eyes closed, just floating along with the music. You’re dressed up, it’s after dinner, and you’re waiting for the show. If this all seems like a black-and-white photograph from the sixties - in that photo, the lights are dim, and the spotlight is on Ms. Atman. The very best stuff. Highest recommendation
- Ottawa Citizen - Peter Hum

The last time I saw Irene Atman, we were both in New York. Me on business, she was working on a new album. Excited about it - something to the effect of, “I can’t believe we’re pulling together such a great bunch of cats to work on this!” Most of that quote is as I remember it - but I’m absolutely accurate in her use of the word, “cats.”
Because I remember thinking - that’s sort of old school.
And very cool.
The result is this disc that’s reminiscent of those classic live recordings from the sixties…a small backing band, a little formal. All that’s missing is the clinking of glasses and the smoke.
Ms. Atman writes that she wanted a “…distinctly New York sound” for the recording. She recruited an old pal, Pianist Frank Kimbrough, who produced, and he grabbed some of his pals - the previously-mentioned “cats” - for the effort. That’s what she was so excited about the day we met.
Well, the good news is that it all paid off.
Ms. Atman’s style is intimate and classy. I listen a lot with an old pair of studio headphones, and it can sometimes sound like she’s about an inch away from my ear, as it did on “Somos Novios,” one of my favorite tracks from this disc of standards. No scoops here, just spot-on intonation, power that’s very controlled - and range that’s eye-widening. Listen and do your own comparisons - they’re easy to make. If you’re not familiar with her work, you’ll still swear you’ve heard her voice before. But Ms. Atman’s earlier (2007) disc is in such heavy rotation on my iPod that for me, she’s an original.
Mr. Kimbrough has a light touch on the keyboard that never, ever overpowers - and is a perfect complement to Ms. Atman’s intimacy. He takes a nice turn on “The Glory of Love.” Joel Frahm on tenor sax, with solos on several stretches - but the one I liked best was on the track, “Why Did I choose You?” Matt Wilson on Drums and Jay Anderson on Bass round out the group. Top-notch.
This disc is a gem. Classy stuff from a very classy woman and her cats. Late at night, eyes closed, just floating along with the music. You’re dressed up, it’s after dinner, and you’re waiting for the show. If this all seems like a black-and-white photograph from the sixties - in that photo, the lights are dim, and the spotlight is on Ms. Atman. The very best stuff. Highest recommendation
- GirlSingers - Doug Boynton

Irene Atman claims influences by Frank Sinatra to Tony Bennett, and Doris Day to Peggy Lee and Judy Garland to Petula Clarke. Her publicists neglect the most obvious influence: that of jazz elasticity, Betty Carter. Atman has perfected the malleable harmony line, her voice stretching and contracting effortlessly in all four dimensions, defying the quantum mechanics of sonics. Her vibrato is nuclear and perfectly controlled. Sporting no formal vocal training, Atman claims emulating horns as her practice and muse. Her vocal control is impressive, manifesting as slurs, trills, tremolo passages the whole bag of talents.
Her upbeat numbers, "Taking A Chance On Love" and "Time After Time" smack with space-time vocal aerobics, while her slow ballads ("Why Did I Choose You" and "I'm A Fool To Want You") are a master's class in perfect intonation and delivery. Atman's delivery is as affected by the pianism of Frank Kimbrough as her own mind's ear. Kimbrough serves as Atman's musical director on the recording, firmly establishing the harmonic direction of the recording date. He displays consummate taste and grace, complementing Atman perfectly.
And what of Joel Frahm? Frahm supplies his tasteful tenor saxophone in angular expressions, sharp on the edges as compared to the Atman's pliable voice, navigating the circuitous obbligato commentary of the melody. Frahm belongs to no school but his own. He readily applies his charm to whatever date he plays. It is always appropriate, considered and intelligent. His approach to Atman's singing is to play that hard edged foil to Atman's evolving timbre. New York Rendezvous is an exceptional addition to the vocal jazz contingency. Atman has much to say and she says it perfectly.
- All about Jazz - C. Michael Bailey

You can hear it in Irene Atman’s voice, she was tutored by Petula Clark, Judy Garland and Peggy Lee. Well, maybe not literally because Atman is too young to have been trained by these ladies, but Atman learned to sing like these ladies when she was a little girl and exposed to her parents record recollection which included these artists and many other jazz vocalists like Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Atman has that irresistible intonation ringing in her timbres which jazz vocalists have. She has a storybook perfect pitch able to touch the listener’s soul, understand the sorrows that burrow in their hearts, stroke their sensibilities with tender caresses and lick their wounds. She has a voice that can make the hardest soul melt in her lap, and the repertoire that she chose to showcase on her latest album, New York Rendezvous will have audiences doing just that.
Produced by Atman and her pianist Frank Kimbrough, New York Rendezvous is an easy listening jazz album made for today’s audience. And even though Atman’s vocal intonations are similar to the ladies of the ‘50s and ‘60s, she sounds more like she could be their grand-daughter rather than someone who sang alongside these jazz vocalists of another era. Atman’s own spin on the timeless beauty “Charade” is exquisite, she really nails it keeping the tune’s classic effects while also modernizing the piece to make it relatable for a contemporary audience. The song selection for the album consists of all ballads so audiences won’t be experiencing anything extremely festive here, although Atman does sing “Somos Novios” in its native Spanish with all of its softly spangled bossa nova effects. Atman winds the listener around her finger with sultry vocal curls along “The Glory Of Love” and the lengthy vocal extensions that she applies to such heart-felt mooning in “Why Did I Choose You.” Kimbrough’s accompaniment on the piano is a perfect fit for Atman’s vocals and its especially noticeable on the opening number “Two For The Road.” The saxophone twits of Joel Frahm and the tinsy bumps of bassist Jay Anderson in “Taking A Chance On Love” produce tingling sensations as drummer Matt Wilson holds the melodic rigs steady. Atman takes periodic time-outs, allowing the musicians to have center stage, which exhibits her endearing showmanship.
Irene Atman has the kind of voice that makes audience members say… ‘If I could sing like her, I’d quit my day job and sing jazz for a living too.’ After hearing Atman’s latest offering New York Rendezvous, I have to wonder why her music is only reaching as far as hotel ballrooms and local clubs when it deserves so much wider exposure. Atman tells in her liner notes that “I wanted to record my second CD in New York and wanted a distinctly New York sound.” New York Rendezvous has more than a New York sound, it has a worldly sound that music fans who are enthusiastic about soft moving melodies which can be easily absorbed into the skin, have been waiting for and her album delivers it.
- Jazz Review - Susan Frances

Dandy jazz vocal date that comes out of left field with a quiet fire and fury that catches you on the unawares. Atman always loved singing, but put it on the shelf until hooking up with Frank Kimbrough and rehashing the old days when they were starving together. She got the bug, he got the urge, rounded up Matt Wilson, Joel Frahm and Jay Anderson and everyone gets on the same page for a collection of loosely gathered oldies and standards that are really handled right in these collective hands. Nicely swinging, nicely swaying with all the right moves in all the right places, this is a top shelf after hours kind of date that will easily be a home run for vocal fans on the prowl for something new. - The Midwest Record - Chris Spector

Meet you in New York. It’ll be classy, swank, and so nice. We’ll listen to the mellifluous tones and caressing phrases of Irene Atman, singing a goodly number of sultry tunes just right for the mood. Just right for a walk through the city, maybe at dusk, into the night, and then late, on the way back to another worthy rendezvous. The literal meaning of the titular rendezvous is the reunion of Irene Atman and Frank Kimbrough after a couple of dozen years along different musical roads. Now they’re together in New York – and it’s glorious.
They’ll be just the right sax sounds, just the right piano playing melodious chords and tasteful lines with just the right touch, the right feel and softness, just the right dynamics of bass and drums with just the right equipoise between and among the vocalist, the instrumentalist, and, of course, the music, the song as melody and lyric. The tunes we’ll hear are sequenced with the same taste and suave selection as the music, the arrangements, the phrasing. And when Irene Atman sings a Spanish love song like “Somos Novios” (“We’re Lovers”) we’ll shower each other with besos abrazos! Hay Chihuahua!
Jay Anderson swings out on a terrific solo on “Taking a Chance on Love”, followed by Joel Frahm, then Frank Kimbrough, all keeping and knowing their place thanks to the rhythmic guidance of Matt Wilson. It’s not your usual cut and dry “your turn” kind of soloing. There’s mindfulness everywhere but never outdistancing the focal point of the vocals. And Irene Atman is the epitome of New York style.
She knows the meaning and the feeling of what she sings. Her rendition of “Why Did I Choose You” will bring the sweet passions of love to a simmer. This song will never be sung any better, never with any more understanding and feeling of the sentiment expressed. And again, Joel Frahm sings his own kind of response to Ms. Atman in a kind of interplay closely approximating the intimacies of making love. And let’s be honest, music is a kind of love making when done like this. Each song is performed to near perfection.
More should and could be said about this loveliest of recordings; however, “Ahora, vamanos a Nuevo York. Somos Novios, clar que si!” Move over Frank, you’ve got some other would-be “lovers” headed your way
- Jazz Improv New York - Bob Gish

Canadian songbird Irene Atman follows her highly acclaimed self-titled, independent debut of 2007 with another remarkable effort, this time recording ten gentle standards in an auspicious New York Rendezvous with pianist Frank Kimbrough and other New York players, providing a new meaning to the phrase "New York state of mind." Meeting Kimbrough twenty years ago on, as she states, "a forgettable cruise," Atman reached out to Kimbrough with the thought of recording her second album in New York, to which Kimbrough offered unqualified support and even serves here as co-producer.
Atman is clearly one of the finest singers around, gifted with a voice that allows her to reach high notes with ease, revealing a cool and enticing style that tenderizes the lyrics with a touch of class. She brings the music alive with the assistance of a very fine quartet, led, of course, by Kimbrough, it features bassist Jay Anderson, drummer Matt Wilson and the versatile Joel Frahm on tenor and soprano saxophones. While the selection of music does contain several familiar standards like Burt Bacharach's "Alfie," Jules Styne's "Time After Time," and Johnny Mandel's "A Time For Love," the majority is lesser-known and less frequently recorded music.
There are no real swinging numbers on the album, as Atman instead prefers to focus on the softer side of jazz floating a repertoire of light gentle standards. Henry Mancini's "Two For The Road," from 1967, opens the disc and establishes a warm tone that carries over throughout the recording. Both Kimbrough and Frahm entertain very tasteful solos here with nothing flashy or fancy, just smooth and relaxing. Frahm does provide engaging tenor phrasing between Atman's voicing of the lyrics to "Why Did I Choose You," but it's the singer who is quite pronounced on this beautiful ballad. Frahm also distinguishes himself on the classic "Charade," this time playing soprano.
Armando Manzanero's "Somos Novios" is in good hands as Atman voices the lyrics in Spanish in a soft and passionate rendition of this standard, with Kimbrough providing the meat of the music in an emotional performance. With Wilson's crashing cymbal accents providing the steady beat on "Time After Time," this is the closest the singer comes to dishing out a swinging number. After listening to the finale songs, "Alfie" and "The Glory of Love," there's little doubt that New York Rendezvous is a jewel of an album. The music sparkles all over and Irene Atman's Streisand-like vocals carry the day on this very memorable recording.
- All about Jazz - Edward Blanco

With so many vocalists crowding the New York City jazz scene these days, it is difficult to attend a new comer’s event without feeling that you may be getting some more of the same ole recipe. Then there is vocalist Irene Atman, who to me, proved to be quite different. The Canadian born songstress has recently relocated to NYC from her native land to join the ranks and be heard. On a publicist’s invite and his strong words about Ms. Atman’s abilities I decided to take in her recent show at The Kitano.
If you are going to take NYC by storm you better have a top-notch quartet behind you and Atman had just that. The great Joel Frahm on saxophone, Matt Wilson on drums, Jay Anderson on bass, and her long time friend Frank Kimbrough on piano. One quality that I have seen in many vocal performances is the inability to work the stage as a professional. When you allow the audience to be attracted to your personality & presence, I can assure you they will enjoy your presentation of the material much more. Atman has that part down. I often felt like I was an old friend of hers, and she has taken me down memory lane with stories regarding her song selection and some very interesting facts about her friendship with Kimbrough. The friendship started on a cruise ship with him performing show tunes and her selling bingo cards. Stage-wise vocalist Irene Atman is a pro.
Atman’s set was made up of selections from her new independently released CD titled New York Rendezvous, which I might add is also fantastic. The set opened with “Two for the Road”, and from note one Atman was brilliant. She possesses incredible vocal technique and knows how to structure a set list. Atman paced the set and gave us great versions of “Taking a Chance on Love,” “Why Did I Choose You,” – all giving space and time to Kimbrough, Wilson and Anderson alike. Joel Frahm was at her side throughout the set and never failed to blow a phenomenal solo. The evening moved on with “Time after Time”, & “I’m a Fool to Want you” which again allowed Atman to sing a song as it should be sung. It is not often that a vocalist can stamp a song her own, but I can’t express enough how good Atman is at this. She knows how to swing, she knows how to sing and she knows how to move in and out of a song form. The set turned the corner for home with a heart felt “Charade” into “My Foolish Heart” and closed with “The Glory of Love”.
With wonderful arrangements by Kimbrough, an all-star band backing her, and of course her own amazing performance, Irene Atman is a step above the others and should be heard. She is now in town, and should be on the area calendars a bit more, but if you can’t catch her at one of the local hot spots, then go to her website and check out her new CD which I found to be just as good as the show.
- Jazz Improv - Christopher Lams