Michelle Walker
New York City, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2002 | INDIE
Music
Press
Michelle was chosen as one of his April 2006 Top Ten jazz performances to see live. Others included, Toots Thielemans, Kenny Werner, Paul Bollenback Trio, Dave Liebman, Bucky Pizzarelli and the Yellowjackets.
"The Washington-bred jazz vocalist has a penchant for choice pop ballads, but it's her soulful voice and thoughtful interpretations that set her apart. "
“Walker's new recording...has seductive charm…“Slow Down" is more than a title, it's an invitation that's hard to resist…[and it]…illustrates Walker's soulful and often soul-comforting allure. [She has]…a voice naturally tilted toward the blues end of the jazz spectrum” - Mike Joyce
Michelle Walker essentially entices with her vocal signature of relaxed phrasing and a bluesy frenzy –similar to vocal stylings of Lady Day.
“Slow Down” is an original that is truly her own style and innermost story. How wonderful are the things that we artists can create when we stick to our own voices.
I’ll surely look forward to her next release that shares that same vibe and innermost originality that Michelle expresses through her own niche of writing and arrangement. I demand more writing from Ms. Walker, for her own voice is what sets her apart from the rest. - Lisa Donaldson
"Walker possesses a set of strong vocal chords which she uses with remarkable restraint...it's obvious that she has the physical equipment to belt out everything she sings...using her vocal powers like a small hand gun rather than as a howitzer. She also demonstrates an extraordinary degree of musicality as she adds subtle alterations to melody lines, going up when one expects her to go down and other ear catching devices." - Dave Nathan
About 10 years ago, I had this killer Billie Holiday cassette - absolutely the best mix of her songs I've ever heard. To make a long story short, I lost that tape, and no matter how many other Billie Holiday albums I purchased, I could never replace that favorite tape or find the same mix of songs. Once I finish the review, this CD is going straight into my personal listening collection, and I think it might finally replace that old Billie Holiday tape as my favorite female jazz vocal.
Lest you assume I am making trivial comparisons here, I am not. Michelle Walker has a wonderful voice, a voice of unusual character. It's very intimate, but versatile, moving from growls to sighs with rare flexibility. While the voice shows confidence, it also allows cracks of vulnerability to surface from time to time. In fact, Michelle Walker sounds good just breathing. She has the kind of pipes and nuance that turns other vocalists green with envy and prompts recording engineers to pull their best vintage mics out of the closet.
She is not a Billie Holiday clone, however, and in fact probably sounds more like the artists mentioned in her press kit; Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, and Diana Krall. However, I am trying to get across to you the sheer talent shown on this release. This CD is like a cool, sleek burgundy silk.
The liner notes say that this CD was recorded in 3 days' time, in the piano player's "home" studio (Backstreet Records Studio in Gaithersburg, MD), which is really rather surprising considering the good sounds they managed to capture. - Suzanne Glass
Her voice is a mixture of harmony and power; able to weave deftly between swing, Latin, straight-ahead, and ballad without missing a beat. This CD is the physical embodiment of her passion for song. - Reviews
Her voice is a mixture of harmony and power; able to weave deftly between swing, Latin, straight-ahead, and ballad without missing a beat. This CD is the physical embodiment of her passion for song. - Reviews
For a debut jazz vocals CD, SLOW DOWN is excitingly original in concept and innovative approach, and the vocals of Michelle Walker are topnotch. Michelle Walker has a sensual, restrained, melodic voice that will attract new listeners in the jazz listening audience. Every note is perfectly sounded, every emotion is perfectly visualized as well as vocalized, and her voice is very poignant. - Lee Prosser
The jazz world will agree that Mark Murphy is definitely hip. And this hippest of jazz singers comes to town Friday night for a return engagement kicking off a new season of Jazz on Granby concerts at the Roper Performing Arts Center. Murphy headlined the very first Jazz on Granby show back in January, 2001, and he’s looking forward to another go with the John Toomey Trio. This time around it’s an evening billed as “The Duke Ellington Songbook,” and he’ll be joined by young DC-based vocalist Michelle Walker.
“She was one of my students,” he explains. “But I suddenly realized that this is no student, this is an emerging artist. She’s really singing the soul of the song. - PortFolio Weekly
For a debut jazz vocals CD, SLOW DOWN is excitingly original in concept and innovative approach, and the vocals of Michelle Walker are topnotch. Michelle Walker has a sensual, restrained, melodic voice that will attract new listeners in the jazz listening audience. Every note is perfectly sounded, every emotion is perfectly visualized as well as vocalized, and her voice is very poignant. - Lee Prosser
Discography
RELEASE TITLE: Slow Down
RELEASE UPC: 6-56613-54162-3
SELLING PRICE: Retail - US$ 15.00
RECORD LABEL: JGP Records
DISTRIBUTION URL: www.amazon.com, www.cdbaby.com
Photos
Bio
FESTIVAL / EVENT SHORT BIO:
Armed with a provocative, whiskey-soaked tone, jazz vocalist Michelle Walker is a charismatic singer that uses an artful blend of blues, bebop, swing and soul with playful rhythmic expressiveness. Based in New York City, she bends the lines and pushes the boundaries of jazz vocal art. With rich colors and adventurous flexibility, she moves easily from a dark, deep tone to a mid-range, swinging lilt. Michelle is very versatile and blessed with a beautifully distinctive voice. She has a refreshing approach to arranging and interpreting often easily recognizable contemporary songs. In her upcoming release, Love Misery, Michelle brings together a collection of jazz standards, original songs and her arrangements of pop tunes that thematically chronicles a love affair. This latest recording project features Joel Frahm on sax, Ron Affif on guitar, Toru Dodo on piano, Michael O'Brien on bass and Willard Dyson on drums. Additional highlights of her career include multiple tours in Europe, performing in the Lincoln Center Women in Jazz Festival, touring with jazz vocal legend Mark Murphy and performing at the White House for the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Dave Nathan at AllAboutJazz.com says, "Walker demonstrates an extraordinary degree of musicality..." Michelle is often compared to Cassandra Wilson, Nina Simone and Betty Carter in style and tone but has develop her own unique sound and singular voice.
BIO Con't:
It is easy to see why this is looking to become a breakout year for Walker. In late Fall 2013, she performed at the 2nd Annual Belarus International Jazz Festival in the city of Minsk on the same bill as Vocal group TAKE 6. She followed that concert up with a 17 day / 10 city extraordinary tour in Russia performing at many Philharmonic Concert Halls around the country. The uniqueness of Walker is found her shifting,rhythmic, lyrical phrasing and her revived, unexpected arrangements of standard songs. Mike Joyce of the Washington Post says, "[Walker]...has a soul-comforting allure." Highlights of her career include opening on tour for jazz vocalist Rene Marie, Chris Botti, George Benson, Spyro Gyra, Terrell Stafford and Wynton Marsalis. She has also performed in concert with noted jazz musicians Joel Frahm, Dena DeRose, Benny Green, Ron Affif, Dan Tepfer, Robert Rodriguez, Benito Gonzales and saxophonist Sam Rivers.
Michelle studied classical voice at the University of Maryland and also studied at the Amsterdam Music Conservatory in Holland and the Stanford Jazz in Palo Alto, CA. Michelle was the first vocalist asked to perform at the "Hot Jazz" Concert Series which featured jazz veterans Kenny Werner, Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, David Hazeltine and Jimmy Greene. Walker has performed throughout US, Canada, Russia, Israel England, Holland and most recently at Blues Alley and The Black Rock Performing Arts Center outside Washington, DC where she helped kick off the jazz concert season which has featured Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut and Ravi Coltrane. In early 2002, Walker released her debut recording, Slow Down, to critical acclaim. The recording received a Washington Area Musician Association (WAMA) Award nomination for Best Jazz and Debut Album of the year and also a national nomination for Best Independent Jazz Vocal album of the year. Walker spent the first years of her career working as a full-time vocalist in the Washington, DC area before she moved to New York City, where she currently resides and performs. While living in the DC area, the Washington Post placed her several times on its Top Ten Area Performers to see perform live. Michelle served on the 2003-2005 Executive Board for the DC Chapter of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE).
Band Members
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