“Ms. Dee Alexander delivers every note with a passion and grace that leave her listeners limp”.
Making her first trip to Australia is one of the great young Chicago jazz singers – Dee Alexander.
Dee is the headline act in the third Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival. Tipped to be the “next” Ella Fitzgerald she will be appearing in Sydney for only three performances. She comeswith impeccable credentials and has been hailed as being “among the premier vocalists and songwriters in American music today”. Critical acclaim includes five star reviews from DownBeat for her last two albums.
Dee Alexander is known for her flawless intonation, interpretive brilliance, intrepid improvising, and the range of genres that she commands.
“ Ms. Alexander’s performances span virtually every music genre related to the African diaspora: gospel, blues, neo-soul, rhythm-and-blues, and world music. But her true heart belongs to jazz, the one idiom that can encompass all her influences. From a sultry ballad to a contemporary funk groove, high-flying swing to a romping scat solo, Ms. Alexander delivers every note with a passion and grace that leave her listeners limp”.
Dee will be accompanied by her musical director, Miguel De La Cerna (piano) with Brett Hirst (bass) and Tim Firth (drums). She will be appearing at The Foundry on Wednesday 5th, Friday 7th at Saturday 8th November
The Sydney’s International Women’s Jazz Festival in it’s third year, has quickly established itself as a unique event with women performers from home and abroad mixing it up in an explosion of great jazz at venues around Sydney. It celebrates women as band leaders and players. There are concerts, workshops, seminars, a big free outdoor performance and new albums, all giving Sydney audiences an opportunity to hear some great women jazz performers.
Appearing will be Lisa Parrott back from New York on Saturday evening, catching up with Sydney musical buddies Cameron Undy, Carl Dewhurst and Simon Barker. You can also hear her talking about life in NYC prior to her performance. Also on Saturday 8th November Jann Rutherford winner Ellen Kirkwood’s with her band Fat Yahoozah perform uber funky horns with African and groove influences in a free outdoor performance.
The popular Hannah James will launch her new album Triliphony. Then the fabulous Sarah McKenzie Quartet, currently residing in the US, will be giving her only Sydney performance to mark the launch of her latest ABC recording.
Gai Bryant and the big Palacio de la Rumba Big Bandwill bring the exciting sounds of Cuban percussion and dance to the Festival.
Closing the festival, three-time ARIA award winning pianist and composer Andrea Keller will team up with Miroslav Bukovsky on the“The Komeda Project”. Commissioned especially for the festival, this eight-piece ensemble celebrates the life and work of pioneering European jazz composer Krzysztof Komeda, who is most famous as the composer to Roman Polanski and Ingmar Berman films.
