A feast of
soul, gospel, r&b, groove and jazz, A Little Love blooms with songs about
searching, trying times, buoyant love, deep reflection and social action.
Lynell sings with the voice of authority and the takeaway from the album as a
whole is honesty. She’s a truth-seeking storyteller with a spirited resolve -
covering a wide range of songs from Nina Simone to Chaka Khan, from Duke to the
Gershwins, from Donny Hathaway to Irma Thomas; with the bookends of the album
featuring songs by powerful modern artists Alina Engibaryan and Joshuah
Campbell. Accompanied by a powerhouse
band featuring Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Jamison Ross on drums, Ed Cherry on
guitars, George DeLancey on bass and Monte Croft on vibes, the release of A
Little Love will be accompanied by tour dates including a stop at the 2019
Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles in June.
“Quiana is a
dynamic and compelling vocalist,” said John Burk, President of Concord Records.
“She has an incredibly rich voice and unique ability to effortlessly blend
gospel, soul, and jazz into her music. We’re thrilled to add Quiana’s debut
album to the longstanding lineage of exceptional artistry on Concord Jazz.”
Born in
Texas and raised on Gospel, in 2017 Quiana Lynell made her salient mark on the
jazz-and-beyond musical world as a wise, heartfelt, warm vocalist whose voice
is singular in its soul, intensity, ecstasy and outright spiritual courage. She
played with her trio at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which led
to her performing in Poland with trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s Spike Lee
tribute with a 75-piece orchestra and a continued period of mentoring on
Blanchard's part. In November of 2017, after considering for a couple of years
whether she was ready, she decided to vie for the Sarah Vaughan International
Jazz Vocal Competition Award. She commanded the finals stage at NJPAC’s
Victoria Theater and wowed the judges and audience with her vocal prowess that
earned her the prize, which afforded her the opportunity to record an album for
Concord Jazz. The result, 2019’s A Little Love, produced by the renowned Brian
Michel Bacchus, is testament to what a rare, mesmerizing artist can achieve on
her auspicious debut.
Blanchard
said his take on hearing Quiana for the first time was “a serious vocal
discovery.” He added, “Quiana Lynell was already a vocal presence. When I first
heard her sing, my initial thought was ‘Who are you, where have you been, and
why am I just hearing you now?'
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