Dara Tucker
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
For a jazz singer who does standards, the challenge is to distinguish your interpretations from the dozens of versions already out there. It's a hurdle singer Dara Tucker overcomes handily on her brand-new disc All Right Now, a collection of jazz classics and show tunes re-imagined through a distinctly modern sensibility. A greasy second-line groove percolates under Cole Porter's “What Is This Thing Called Love,” a bass clarinet-centered chamber-jazz intro starts Billy Strayhorn's “Lush Life,” and the long outro of Duke Ellington and Bob Russell's “Don't Get Around Much Anymore” features trippy vocal harmonies over a hip-hop groove. Tucker's lovely voice is emotive without going over the cliff into melodrama, while the production and musicianship are top-notch throughout—particularly the electric piano of Paul Horton, whose dense chords add a refreshing depth to even the most familiar melodies.
- The Nashville Scene
Discography
All Right Now - 2009
Tracks played on WFSK and WMOT in Nashville, as well as WWOZ in New Orleans:
"That's All," "Avalon," "Time After Time," "Someday My Prince Will Come," and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore."
Photos
Bio
Dara Tucker was born into a musical family. So it’s no surprise that her love affair with music began at such an early age. The product of a music minister father, and a songstress mother, she began singing in her Tulsa, Oklahoma church at age 5. By age 8 she was playing simple melodies on the piano and soon began accompanying her brothers and sisters at performances. Says Tucker, “We performed as a group in churches and youth events throughout the city. It was a real proving-ground for us. We grew our own musical legs, independent of our parents. That was a very important learning time.” Throughout her college years, Tucker continued to hone her skills as a vocalist and musician. After obtaining a degree in International Business and German studies, she worked for a time in the corporate language-training field, eventually relocating to Interlaken, Switzerland to study German. It was there that Tucker began to write the first of her very personal songs. “I discovered my own creative voice during my time abroad,” Tucker says. “That’s when I began to realize that true artistic expression comes from a very personal place. You can’t fake it. My songwriting speaks of some hard-learned lessons, and long-fought battles.” Rather than allow those experiences to breed bitterness and distrust of the world, she channeled them into a unique musical discovery. “I found something within myself that I didn’t realize was there -- music’s ability to ensure my spiritual and emotional survival. No one can ever take that away from me,” says Tucker. Tucker’s original songs speak to her life philosophy. Among the first songs she wrote during her time in Switzerland is an ode to the importance of risk-taking -- I Dare Not Dream. Songs such as Golden Time and It All Works Together were soon to follow. With their R&B edge, songs Beautiful Sun and Loving You highlight her versatility while staying true to a common theme of living life to the fullest. Dara Tucker’s original songs fuse her gospel roots with jazz’ subtlety and free spirit, while paying homage to American Folk music. Her style, while difficult to pigeonhole, can best be described as Urban Singer-Songwriter. With subtly soulful undertones, she seeks to convey her pensive, searching, but always-hopeful outlook on life through her music. Since moving to Nashville, TN to pursue music fulltime, Tucker has begun to establish herself as a strong presence in Nashville’s burgeoning jazz scene. Displaying a love for standards and swing that belies her years, Tucker’s reverence for the Great American Songbook can be felt in her careful delivery of these timeless songs. In January of 2009, Dara's long-awaited debut CD release, “All Right Now,” was released independently. Dara’s music can be heard on local Nashville jazz stations, 89.5, WMOT and 88.1 WFSK. She performs regularly at Sambuca in Nashville's trendy gulch district, the legendary F. Scott’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar in the Green Hills district, & the long-standing Jefferson Street Jazz and African Street Festivals. She has also performed at Snug Harbor in New Orleans, The Rutledge, Boscos and The 12th South Taproom. Visit Dara online at www.myspace.com/daratucker.
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