Cassandre McKinley - Dragonfly

Size: 104,9 MB
Time: 44:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Americana
Art: Front

01. Plain Gold Ring (4:28)
02. All Alone Am I (4:50)
03. Let It Be Me (3:58)
04. Lonely Wine (4:31)
05. I Miss You So (3:55)
06. Change Your Mind (5:56)
07. Do I Move You (3:54)
08. Mama (2:43)
09. Are You Lonesome Tonight (3:30)
10. Out Of The Rain (6:54)

A vocal culmination of Jazz, Country and Blues styles adapted through songs by great artists like Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Nina Simone and Etta James.

Boston born and bred, McKinley started a career in film and television upon entering her freshman year of high school. By 16, she had already signed with a New York talent agent, began taking weekly private voice instruction and attended a long series of intensive music programs that specialized in voice performance. After high school, she attended The Boston Conservatory of Music majoring in Musical Theater and has now held an accomplished career spread over 3 decades as a professional singer, dancer, actress, voice-over artist and print model.

McKinley is best known for her powerhouse voice and stylistic versatility and ability to cross genres effortlessly. She is renowned for her spirited and emotional performances with a presence on stage that is exuberant and passionate yet warm and disarming. She has shared the stage, and in some cases, recorded with greats such as Dick Johnson (Artie Shaw Orchestra), Clay Osborne, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Jay Geils, Fred Lipsius (Blood, Sweat and Tears), Jerry Portnoy (Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters), the legendary Herb Pomeroy and others.

After self-releasing several favorable straight-ahead jazz albums, McKinley drew from deeper influences of her youth and revealed a more “soulful” sounding jazz album in remembrance of the late Marvin Gaye. Her expressive work on this album generated a resounding and enthusiastic buzz – soon to follow was a signed record contract and an extended release of the project re-titled “Til Tomorrow - Remembering Marvin Gaye” (MAXJAZZ 2007). Jazztimes Magazine hailed the work as “a rich, sensual salute”. The album steady stream of success both nationally and internationally, legitimizing her standing as a prominent and salient new artist. With a heightened joy for the process of creativity and performance, McKinley is continuously evolving seeking imaginative ways to illustrate her passion and elevate her art.

Dragonfly

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Cassandre McKinley - Til Tomorrow

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:03
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:33)  1. Trouble Man
(3:33)  2. I Want You
(4:27)  3. Til Tomorrow
(3:12)  4. I Wish It Would Rain
(3:58)  5. You're the One for Me
(3:18)  6. Pride and Joy
(3:38)  7. Your Precious Love
(4:22)  8. Night Life
(5:27)  9. Let's Get It on
(3:24) 10. After the Dance
(5:04) 11. I Won't Cry Anymore
(5:12) 12. I Wonder
(3:46) 13. Yesterday
(3:05) 14. If This World Were Mine

One of the funniest jokes that has made the rounds in the jazz world goes like this: how many jazz vocalists does it take to sing "My Funny Valentine"? All of them. The point is that so many jazz artists males and females, singers and instrumentalists  insist on performing the most overdone Tin Pan Alley warhorses no matter how much those warhorses been beaten to death over the years, and God forbid they should try to find the jazz potential in rock or R&B songs. Thus, it is refreshing to hear Boston-based vocalist Cassandre McKinley providing this jazz-friendly tribute to Marvin Gaye. 

Til Tomorrow: Remembering Marvin Gaye is not straight-ahead jazz; what McKinley does on this 59-minute CD is best described as a mixture of jazz, R&B, and pop (with blues and gospel elements at times). But jazz is certainly an important part of the equation, and McKinley doesn't simply offer note-for-note covers of songs that the late soul icon recorded; she interprets them, offering plenty of delightful surprises along the way. "I Want You" and "After the Dance" receive bossa nova makeovers, and McKinley puts a post-bop spin on "Trouble Man" without sacrificing any of the song's bluesiness. "Let's Get It On" becomes surprisingly understated and torch-like in McKinley's hands, while "I Wish It Would Rain" (a gem associated with the Temptations and Gladys Knight & the Pips more than Gaye, although he recorded it in 1970) is given an appealingly bluesy, folkish spin along the lines of Tracy Chapman. "I Wish It Would Rain" is one of the disc's least jazz-minded performances, but again, McKinley never claimed that Til Tomorrow was the work of a jazz purist. It is, however, an excellent example of a jazz-friendly vocalist acknowledging that great popular music didn't end with Tin Pan Alley. ~ Alex Henderson  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/til-tomorrow-remembering-marvin-gaye-mw0000442406

Personnel: Cassandre McKinley (vocals); Stephen Angellis (vocals); Marty Ballou (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Dino Govoni (tenor saxophone); John Allmark (trumpet); Brad Hatfield (piano, synthesizer); Vincent Pagano (drums, percussion); Marty Richards (drums); Lexi Angellis (rainsticks).

Til Tomorrow

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Cassandre McKinley - Right In Front Of You

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:01
Size: 78,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:54)  1. Anyone But You
(4:47)  2. A Beautiful Friendship
(2:49)  3. Never To Return
(3:28)  4. Our Journey (Lexi's Song)
(4:43)  5. Watch Yourself Go By
(3:26)  6. Cravin' Spring
(3:40)  7. It's Alright With Me
(4:30)  8. Right In Front Of You
(3:43)  9. Hit Me With A Hot Note And Wat

Cassandre McKinley has never been compared to another famous singer “before her time”. Instead, McKinley has enriched her musical surroundings with something honest and refreshing. Her approach to jazz is organic, instinctual and from the heart  most simply describe her as “authentic”. Drawing from a diverse group of influences, McKinley has developed a sound and style that is so unique, there’s no comparisons. Her voice is a blend that is true “soul” at it’s core a sound that is pure, yet sophisticated and distinctive. Many will tell you that McKinley gives every ounce of herself to the music and the strength in her vocal performance, while dynamic and clear, leaves one wondering where this seemingly endless reserve of vocal power and prowess comes from.

McKinley grew up 20 minutes outside of Boston. She trained as a singer, dancer and actress at a very young age, but was never extreme in her focus for one or the other. The dance company she studied and performed with kept her well rounded and allowed her frequent trips to Boston and NYC where she could fulfill her passion for the arts. She began working with a vocal coach; Beatrice was a European opera singer who had retired professionally and was teaching students at The Boston Conservatory of Music. McKinley went on to attend the college and formed a special bond with the teacher. After college, McKinley rooted herself in the city where she spent time cultivating her music skills. She frequented musical venues  listening and absorbing. Occasionally, she would have the opportunity to sit in and sing which lead to a few guest appearances in larger venues (The House of Blues, Ryles Jazz Club). It had become clear to those that had worked with McKinley, to her growing number of local fans, and McKinley herself that Jazz was not only something she had a special knack for  she felt more passion for it than any other style of music.  Her first legitimate jazz gig McKinley took a leap of faith and asked some of Boston’s most well known players to accompany her on the gig. They obliged. From that point on, she would continue building musical relationships that would strenthen her artistically. Dick Johnson (Artie Shaw Orchestra), Herb Pomeroy, Al Vega and a list of local legends world class performers all spent time with McKinley with a willingness to advise and educate the young singer. “Friendships like these are a gift those gentlemen shared thier philosophies with me  they each taught me to trust my instincts”. McKinley admits that the jazz form and the art of “improvisation” appeals to her. “I love the freedom that comes with singing jazz although there is still a form to the music, it can move and bend it all depends on what’s inside the soul and how you happen to apply it”.

When asked who her influences are, she answers with a surprising mix. “Dinah Washington, Anita O’Day, Miles Davis, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Cat Stevens, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Nancy Wilson  even Elvis. Drawing from this diverse group, McKinley has developed a sound and style that is unique to her like leaves on a tree. Her soulful blend is simple, yet sophisticated true and distinctive. Cassandre has just released her debut album under the MAXJAZZ label titled TIL TOMORROW – REMEMBERING MARVIN GAYE. In this body of work, McKinley delivers her interpretation of selected music Gaye wrote, co-wrote and performed throughout his career. From inception to execution, McKinley’s sensitivity to Gaye’s message and her rich, warm sound combine to pull this project far, far away from the ordinary. Creating a genre that just fits between Jazz, Smooth Jazz and R & B, “Til Tomorrow” is a rich exploration into Nu-Jazz and Soul focusing on the “soul”. 

“Making this album was like reading over old pages from my journals  it was a beautiful opportunity to see where it is I’ve been and then, take a moment to anticipate what may be ahead.”  http://www.cassandremckinley.com/about/

Right In Front Of You

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