Danielle Reich

A strong drum roll starts This Year's Kisses, the new release by jazz singer Danielle Reich. Tenor saxophonist Seth Paynter and trumpeter Carol Morgan, who also produced the album, exchange melody lines in a style reminiscent of the first New Orleans jazz bands in "On the street where you live" the first track in an album full of swinging music and diverse influences. In her music, Reich shows influences of french music, boleros, broadway musicals and of course jazz standards.

Reich vocal delivery has a classic movie/Judy Garland feel on "If I Love You", but the music actually feels like a Bolero. Bolero is a slow music from latin america, that can be easily fused with jazz, creating a style called Bolero Jazz. Reich sings in pretty good spanish the classic bolero "Sabor a mi" by Alvaro Carrillo. Nice to see jazz musicians including this kind of music in their repertoire.

Gershwin "How long has this been going on" starts slow and then increase in tempo into a kind of cool swing. Morgan adds another good trumpet solo echoing the early jazz trumpet players like Louis Armstrong. Paynter hardbop-like solos adds intensity to the french music feel of "Alone Together". Reich also shows her french influence singing in perfect french in Jacques Brel "Ne Me Quitte Pas". Reich interpretation brings back memories of the great french singers like Edith Piaf. "Speak Low", normally treated as a ballad, receives here a more upbeat treatment. The tempo constantly changes between latin and straight ahead jazz.

The interesting arrangements of "All or nothing at all" feel almost like a tango at the beginning but then changes into a more traditional swing groove. The album close with Reich sexy singing in the medley of "Green Chimneys" and "Softly as in the morning sunrise". - Jazz Times

"Pure aural pleasure" - Zzaj Productions

Whether Danielle Reich is sinking her vocals into a lush ballad or soaring with a daydreamy uptempo, she sings with a smile on her face and the view of loving life in her mind. Her debut album This Year's Kisses features a selection of standards that accentuate the candlelight aesthetics in her timbres and the elegant stride of her intonations. Produced by her trumpet player Carol Morgan, This Year's Kisses rejuvenates the sensual grooves of nocturnal blues and the caressive strokes of cabaret swing.

The finger-snapping rhythm pulsating through the title track and "On The Street Where You Live" cushion the ambling gait of Reich's vocals and enhances the perky glow in her delivery. Her versing through Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" recalls of the emotive inflections of Edith Piaf. The soft flickers illuminating "Crazy He Calls Me" and "Along Together" silhouette Reich's expressive voicing, and the velvety grip of her vocals in "All Or Nothing At All" steers the track with a sensual touch.

Unable to sing a single note wrong wherever she takes the verses, Reich is a paragon of suaveness. The calypso sway of "Sabor A Mi" produces a star-lit ambience as Reich's vocals wrap around the Spanish lyrics. The brisk flapping of Seth Paynter's saxophone in "Speak Low" brands the track with breaths of serenity, and his stirring solo in "At Seventeen" elevates a somber melody to a level of libation.

Danielle Reich treats pleasing melodies as an art form. The improvisations she imprints in her vocal nuances turn standards into fertile ground where verses become malleable in her buttery grip. She delivers every lyric with a caressive touch which escalates the appeal of cabaret-tinged tunes and bluesy nocturnes. - Yahoo Voices

There is something strange going on in Houston, Texas. It must be the heat and humidity, stimulating the fecund creative jazz spirits that give rise to the likes of Larry Slezak (No Worries (Self Produced, 2009)), Jacqui Sutton (Billie & Dolly (Self Produced, 2010)), Henry Darragh Tell Her More Me (A-Train Creative, 2010)), and, now vocalist Danielle Reich with This Year's Kisses.

There is an intersection where all this Texas talent meets, in yet another Texan, transplanted to New York City, trumpeter/producer Carol Morgan (Opening (Blue Bamboo Music, 2010)). She plays trumpet and produces This Year's Kisses, revealing new facets to her considerable talent and the considerable talent with whom she associates.

Our protagonist here, singer Reich, has a musical approach as perfectly balanced and graceful as her classically-informed and jazz-honed mezzo voice. Reich's singing is not so much conservative as it is serious, executed in a very relaxed and confident manner. She is not given to unnecessary fits of scat and vocalese. She is devoted to the melody, but not slavishly so. Reich avoids the over-reverence which can have a stifling effect on performance, opting instead for a very open and friendly singing manner. The result is a most satisfying music experience by one who has worked hard at it.

Reich's repertoire is straight from the center of The Great American Songbook. Her treatments are refreshingly accessible, superbly arranged and immediately enjoyable. "On The Street Where You Live," "If I Loved You," "How Long Has This Been Going On," "All or Nothing at All" are all given a master's clinic treatment. Piquant and desirable, Reich conveys these old lyrics seamlessly.

Reich employs her classical/technical abilities with care. Often the transition from classical repertoire to jazz is treacherous, having less than positive results. Not so here. Reich engages these songs with a steady jazz hand, never slipping off into the coloratura flourishes that often plague lesser classical cum jazz vocalists. Where her classical training does benefit her are on the foreign language pieces; her Spanish on "Sabor A Mi" and French on "Ne Me Quitte Pas" flawless and elegant.

At the musical level, pianist Andrew Lienhard's effortless musicality holds this recital with a firm yet swinging grasp. Morgan's trumpet playing, like her production, is smartly compact and focused, her tart trumpet sound and the careful abandon of her playing giving performances a patina of gold. Seth Paytner's tenor saxophone proves adventuresome on "Alone Together," as does David Craig's bass solo. The creative pinnacle of the disc is the Lienhard-arranged mash-up of Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimneys" with the Romberg/Hammerstein standard, "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise." This is high art of the jazz variety—or any variety. - All About Jazz

Listening to vocalist DANIELLE REICH, it is quickly apparent that she has an ear for jazz, and the chops and creativity to bring that jazz sensitivity to her singing. This Year’s Kisses (No Label or Catalog Number) is her initial recording following years of study and performance that honed her talent to a point where her first album is one of a mature singer ready to share her artistry with a wider audience. She is supported in this by her producer, trumpeter Carol Morgan, tenor saxophonist Seth Paynter, pianist Andrew Lienhard, bassist David Craig and drummer Dalton Lee. Her eclectic program includes standards like “On the Street Where You Live” and “Speak Low,” tunes in Spanish (“Sabor A Mi”) and French (Ne Me Quitte Pas”), a pop tune from the 1970s (“At Seventeen”), and an interesting version of “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” with extensive references to Monk’s “Green Chimneys.” Morgan ‘s trumpet adds a consistently tasteful voice to the mix. Reich is an impressive new voice on the jazz scene, and welcome indeed. (www.daniellereich.org) - Jersey Jazz