Janiece Jaffe - It Takes Two

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:56
Size: 123.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[4:07] 1. Blue Bossa
[2:45] 2. Till There Was You
[3:46] 3. You Go To My Head
[3:27] 4. My Romance
[5:26] 5. Blue Moon
[3:20] 6. La Vie En Rose
[5:10] 7. Angel Eyes
[3:12] 8. Harlem Nocturne
[3:57] 9. Rain On The Roses
[2:52] 10. The Nearness Of You
[4:57] 11. I'm Just A Lucky So And So
[2:58] 12. Prelude To A Kiss
[3:19] 13. Lotus Blossom
[4:35] 14. Gentle Rain

For her second album as a leader, Indiana denizen Janiece Jaffe has chosen to limit her accompaniment to guitar and bass, each separately. Guitar player Marcos Cavalcante provides the support on six cuts, while bass player Tom Hildreth is on the remaining eight tracks. Jaffe is in good company with just the one instrument approach. Sheila Jordan recorded with bass players Arild Andersen and Harvie Swartz behind her. More recently, fine Chicago songstress Jackie Allen has recorded with bass player Hans Sturm. On the guitar/voice side, Nancy King has been to the studio with guitar player Glen Moore to turn out exceptional albums.

With this sparse instrumental assistance, the singer has to be ready to carry more of the performance than she otherwise would. The results of Jaffe's efforts are mixed. She has exceptional range, good diction and works well with her accompanists. Her voice carries a slight vibrato which she uses to good effect, especially at the end of a phrase. On some cuts, however, she stays too long at the higher end of her range causing her voice to get a bit thin, as on "My Romance" and "Angel Eyes." Hildreth saves the track with some choice bass soloing. When Jaffe takes a more balanced direction, using her full vocal capacity, the results are more satisfying, as on a blusey "Just a Lucky So and So," highlighted by some good wordless vocalizing. Another outstanding rendition comes with "Gentle Rain." Both these cuts find her with Cavalcante's guitar, which fits her voice better than the bass, at least on this disc. The very good vocal/bass rendition of "Till There Was You," however, shows that it is possible for Jaffe to work well with a bass without straining. But this cut is the exception rather than the rule. Nonetheless, this CD has much to offer and will be a welcome addition to one's vocal collection. ~Dave Nathan

It Takes Two

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Curtis Cantwell Jackson & Janiece Jaffe - Songs That Make You Feel This Way

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:00
Size: 107.6 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:55] 1. Sunshine On My Shoulders
[4:47] 2. Lazybones
[3:25] 3. It's Lonely Here
[4:37] 4. Don't Know Why
[6:01] 5. Autum Leaves
[3:46] 6. Three Little Birds
[4:35] 7. You Send Me
[6:30] 8. Weakness
[4:44] 9. Corcovado
[4:36] 10. You Are So Beautiful

Curtis and I met at the Farmer's Market in Bloomington IN in 2002! We did not sing with each other until 2007 when we kept hearing from fans and friends that we should collaborate. Little did we know we would become such a dynamic duo! We both come from a rich background of teaching and performing, and enjoy the magic that comes from sharing our passion for life and music.

Songs That Make You Feel This Way

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Janiece Jaffe - Hearts Desire

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:18
Size: 120,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:46)  1. You Taught My Heart To Sing
(2:59)  2. Up Jumped Spring
(3:57)  3. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(4:17)  4. Fever
(3:29)  5. Easy To Love
(3:15)  6. Over The Rainbow
(4:15)  7. But Beautiful
(5:06)  8. Cry Me A River
(2:00)  9. Let's Get Lost
(2:34) 10. That's All
(4:36) 11. In Summer
(4:52) 12. Waltz For Debby
(2:51) 13. Hearts Desire
(3:14) 14. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Alternative Take)

Janiece Jaffe was born into a home of musical influence. Her father was a classically trained pianist, organist, and collegiate musical director. Her mother was a classical vocalist and light operatic performer in summer stock. They encouraged Janiece in singing, acting, and dancing. Janiece studied voice at both the University of New Mexico and later at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she studied with David Baker and Dominic Spera of the Jazz Studies Program. Baker refers to Jaffe's vocal talent as her "marvelous instrument and sites her impressive control and emotional punch. Janiece was also influenced by the Janis Borla Vocal Jazz Camp in Chicago, where she studied with Janet Lawson, Borla, and others. Jaffe produced her first Cd Keep The Flame Alive in 1994. In 1996, Jaffe produced her second Cd, It Takes Two, accompanied by either Brazilian guitarist Marcos Cavalcante or jazz bassist Tom Hildreth. Dave Nathan, reviewer for the internationally known publication "All About Jazz", in his review of It Takes Two, raved: "One of the Midwest's most talked about jazz vocalists, Janiece Jaffe, is blessed with an amazingly warm, sweet voice. With an exceptional range and a beautifully tender way of expressing a lyric in an almost achingly intimate fashion, Jaffe brings her vocal gifts to light in one of the most vulnerable of musical situations, the duet, on her latest Cd It Takes Two. 

Jaffe sets the mood perfectly with a cool, breezy "Blue Bossa", her silky vocals intermingling with the exemplary guitar work of Marcos Cavalcante, who collaborates with Jaffe on a total of six cuts, the aforementioned "Blue Bossa", as well as "You Go To My Head", "La Vie En Rose", "Rain On The Roses", "Just A Lucky So And So", and "Gentle Rain". For the remaining eight of IT TAKES TWO's fourteen selections, Janiece Jaffe is joined by bassist Tom Hildreth, wrapping gorgeously sinuous lines around tunes like "Angel Eyes", "'Till There Was You", "My Romance", "Blue Moon" and " Harlem Nocturne", "The Nearness of You", "Prelude to a Kiss" and "Lotus Blossom". Inspired by singers Like Janet Lawson, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Cleo Laine, Minnie Ripperton, Joni Mitchell, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Peggy Lee, and Bobby McFerrin, Janiece Jaffe maintains an original style and a distinctive voice that touches upon her influences but manages to remain refreshingly unique. Listeners may well be inspired to pick up an additional copy of Jaffe's latest, after all, It Takes Two!" A third Cd, Heart’s Desire, was just released in January of 2003. 

It features Janiece and the Simon Rowe trio, with Rowe on piano, John Huber on bass, and Pete Wilhoit on drums. David Baker, Distinguished Professor of Jazz Studies at Indiana University and President of the International Association of Jazz Educators, said of this CD in his liner notes: "Simply put, Heart's Desire is a brilliant CD. Janiece Jaffe has a gorgeous voice. The accompanying trio of world-class performers is outstanding. The choice of tunes, and manner in which they are presented, makes for a wonderfully balanced musical offering. Janiece Jaffe is a marvelous talent. She is sensitive, thoughtful when appropriate, swinging like mad when required, and masterful and sympathetic in her approach to lyrics. The outstanding performances and sound quality make this a CD you'll want to listen to over and over again."

In 1999, Jaffe returned from an tour of Japan where she performed with a big band for concert audiences. On her own she has performed at Manhattan's "Danny's Skylight Room" and twice at Washington DC's "Blues Alley", where she performed with Ketter Betts, former bassist with Ella Fitzgerald, who said of Jaffe: "Stop looking to the heavens for new stars. There's a bright star here on earth that shines with her voice." Janiece has also appeared with the big bands of David Baker, Dominic Spera, Al Colbine, Clem De Rosa, and the Midcoast Jazz Project, now known as the Busselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. Jaffe was a headliner at the Newburgh Jazz Festival in August 2002. In November 2002, Jaffe and Dominic Spera paid homage to two big jazz legends, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, in their memorable performance "Tribute to Ella and Louis" at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater (with Al Cobine as a special guest)in Bloomington, Indiana. Most recently Janiece was a jazz headliner for Crystal Cruiselines. Janiece Jaffe performs regularly with Roy Geesa's Cool City Swing Band in Indianapolis, and at Bear's Place and Café D'Jangos in Bloomington, Indiana. Jaffe is a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators, and teaches voice in her home studio. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jaffe

Hearts Desire

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