Music
Press
"...a voice with a kind of freshness which goes without effort from contagious jubilation to the most gentle tenderness."
- Henri Marchal, Semaine des Spectacles, France
"This cool jazz artist knows how to use the entire palette of her art to express disenchantment, sensuality, romance, and melancholy or jubilation. She scats and sings with a pleasant and seemingly effortless ease" Michel Bedin, Jazz Hot
"Bonnie Lowdermilk is situated somewhere between Blossom Dearie and Judy Niemack. She is equally a remarkable pianist." - Jean-Louis Wiart, Axololotl Jazz
"Some decades ago, Bonnie Lowdermilk no doubt, would have played in the big bands of the swing era. Today, this singer and pianist plays in solo in the prestigious clubs of America, but also in Paris, where her graceful and sophisticated voice has conquered the public." Andre Greiner, Le Republican Lorrain
Acclaim for "This Heart of Mine":
"A first recording which is nothing less than sumptuous.... an intimate disc, with a swing of rare elegance and with compositions of great beauty...at once subtle and generous" - Dernieres Nouvelles D'Alsace
"A vivacious young woman with character...A freshness bursts forth on the up-tempos, and her scat is original and possesses agility, vivacity, and swing. Around her an excellent rhythm section led by the pianist Fred Hersch who accompanies her with the maximum precision and attention. Someone to watch out for." - Gerard Mathieu, Jazz Notes
"Lowdermilk's a confident, personable vocalist with a wide range and Ella Fitzgerald's flair for wordplay. Her style is alternately romantic, saucy and playful, as the tunes (which range from originals such as "Ephemeral Dream"; to standards like Cole Porter's, "You Do Something To Me" require. This is cool jazz for a cold night, peppered by Lowdermilk's deft scatting and occasional piano playing." - Westword
"She scats with ease on the movers and invests appropriate tenderness on the ballads." Jazz Scene, Oregon's Jazz Magazine
- different sources
Discography
"This Heart of Mine" 1997, Bonnie Lowdermilk -vocals (and piano on 2 cuts) with Fred Hersch - p., Drew Gress - b., Tom Rainey - d.
"Up To Now" 2009, Bonnie Lowdermilk - vocals, piano, Ken Walker or Mark Simon - bass, Colin Stranahan - drums, Greg Gisbert - trumpet, flugelhorn, Peter Sommer -t. s. saxes, Nelson Hinds - trombone.
Photos
Bio
Bonnie Lowdermilk has been singing and playing for as long as she can remember. She started piano lessons at age six. She has a degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in piano performance and piano pedagogy, and studied voice as a second instrument there. She developed a love of jazz at the University as well and began to perform professionally. She started out as a singer in the '70s, working with the best sidemen the area had to offer. Gradually, she started playing the piano more and more herself. She studied jazz piano with Denver's Ted Alexander, who gave her a strong background in Bill Evans voicings. Throughout the 1990's Bonnie lived and performed in Paris, France. She studied jazz piano with former Berkeley School of Music teacher, Katie Roberts. She played in the major clubs there and in 1998 played the renown festival, "Jazz in Marciac", where celebrities such as Wynton Marsalis and Shirley Horn have played. She also gave a 5 day vocal clinic at the festival. She recorded her first CD in NYC with the Fred Hersch Trio in 1996. She currently has a new CD in the works. (Click on listen.)
Bonnie works as a solo, duo, trio (piano, upright bass, drums) and in quartet, quintet and sextet formations (add sax, trumpet, trombone or guitar) for clubs, concerts, parties, and other events throughout the Denver area and beyond. She sings in French and Portugese as well as her native English. She also works as a piano and vocal instructor. Her choice of repertoire is distinctive and eclectic. While she knows how to sing and play most of the standards, she has a penchant for finding largely unknown treasures which have rarely been performed or recorded. Bonnie's singing is charged with emotion and sensuality, her voice supple and clear, with a warm low register and a luminous treble.
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