Rita Edmond
Sketches Of A Dream
© 2008 rita edmond (613767251327)
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A new lease on the great American songbook. Rita has a fresh and very individual singing style.
tracks
- 1 Dindi
- 2 Star Eyes
- 3 You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
- 4 Body and Soul
- 5 All The Way
- 6 On The Street Where You Live
- 7 My Romance
- 8 Never Let Me Go
- 9 Day By Day
- 10 Out Of Nowhere
- 11 Just In Time
- 12 Here's That Rainy Day
- 13 You Stepped Out Of A Dream
- 14 Misty
- 15 Almost Like Being In Love
- 16 Our Love Is Here To Stay
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During an era when there are many female singers who are attempting to sing jazz, Rita Edmond stands apart from the crowd. A California-based vocalist who is making quite an impact on the Los Angeles jazz scene, she has a very appealing voice, a four-octave range, and is able to express a wide variety of emotions. Rita swings at every tempo and does justice to the lyrics that she is singing but is also a classy and spontaneous improviser who is not shy to stretch herself or to take her music in unexpected directions whether interpreting uptempo swing, sensuous blues or a heartbreaking ballad.
Blessed with a powerful voice, Rita started singing lead in the junior choir of her church when she was five. At 15, she trained with the highly respected vocal teacher Evangeline Seward, one of the best in the business. Her sultry voice contributed to various producers and songwriters for BET, Warner Chappell Publishing, MCA Records and Motown. She also worked in Las Vegas and throughout Europe including Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo (where she opened for Prince), Italy, Paris and all over the South of France. When Rita was with the Keith Edwards Agency, she sang at private parties for Hollywood notables and, at the Beverly Hills Hotel, she opened for Cleo Laine.
After performing all over the Los Angeles area during the past year, Rita Edmond recorded her debut CD, Sketches Of A Dream. “The title of the CD has a meaning and a story,” says Rita. “I am sketching out a lifetime dream of what I want to do vocally. I love jazz and the standards are some of the most beautiful songs ever written. Jazz is the most liberating free form of music there is; I call it free flowing music. You are free to be who you want to be, do what you want do and mostly sing the way you want to sing, without restrictions. Most, of my life I have sung somewhat outside of the norm. Sketches of a Dream is the culmination of all my experiences, good and bad, and my dream to overcome it all and be true to myself, singing with a free flowing vocal style.”
Joined by a quintet comprised of pianist Joel Scott, bassist James Leary, drummer Quentin Dennard, tenor-saxophonist Ricky Woodard and trumpeter Nolan Shaheed, Rita Edmond gives 16 of her favorite standards a fresh outlook with inventive interpretations that are full of plenty of excitement. Among the many highlights are a passionate “Dindi,” cooking renditions of “My Romance” (which is usually a ballad) and “All The Way,” and joyful versions of “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To,” “Day By Day” and “Almost Like Being In Love.” While she pays respect to the original intentions of the songwriters and lyricists, Rita also feels free to use her creativity to alter melody lines, swing hard and fully express herself so as to make each song her own.
For the future, Rita says, I look forward to recording more, performing at all the jazz festivals, working with orchestras and big bands in addition to singing and performing aboard.” It is obvious, listening to Sketches Of A Dream, that Rita Edmond is a superior jazz singer who is on the brink of great success. Few today are on her level.
Scott Yanow
reviews
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- author: saleek goode
Let me say that "Sketches of a Dream" is the most relaxing cd i've gotten in awhile and the voice of Rita Edmond is just amazing! Highly,highly recommended to any jazz lover..(Can't take it out of my cd player)!
A dream of a CD !
author: Jeff Cox / The IMPACT BandIt takes a great vocalist to bring standards (that have been done countless times) to life like this - and Rita Edmond is just that. If you have ever enjoyed renditions of these tunes, I highly recommend this CD. After listening to it, I'm sure you'll be a Rita Edmond fan, too. Whatever she comes out with - I'm buying it !!
Sketches Of A Dream
author: NinaClassics never die,however, new life can be breathed into the beautiful standards. Rita Edmond's album "Sketches Of A Dream" deftly pays tribute to quiet gestures,the romantic interlude, and love with a gifted quintet of musicians, clear enunciation of lyric, and a vocal styling that draws us into the privy of her soul. My personal favorites on the cd are "Never Let Me Go" and "Dindi". Rita just captures every moment that I've fallen in love, and spliced them into those songs. The entire album is akin to sitting in a jazz club;there is a great intimacy created by Rita, Joel Scott, Quentin Dennard, Ricky Woodard, and Nolan Shaheed with their symbiotic alchemy. Beloveds, this is music;the way God meant it to be interpreted. Rita Edmond is here to stay!
Author of nine jazz books including Jazz On Record 1917-76, Jazz On Film and Tru
author: Scott YanowIt is obvious, listening to Sketches Of A Dream, that Rita Edmond is a superior jazz singer who is on the brink of great success. Few today are on her level.
Author of nine jazz books including Jazz On Record 1917-76, Jazz On Film and Tru
author: Scott YanowIt is obvious, listening to Sketches Of A Dream, that Rita Edmond is a superior jazz singer who is on the brink of great success. Few today are on her level.
Program director of Soundtrax.WATB 1420 AM Radio.Atlanta,GA.
author: Rome MontagueAn Auspicious Debut from a Phenomenal New Talent! Rita Edmonds' Sketches of a Dream is destined to Break new ground in Jazz vocals. Her voice is a gift many singers aspire to have but few attain. Drawing inspiration from classics like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan As well as employing today's hip hop influenced R&B vocal techniques, Rita Edmond has what it takes to reinvent the art form to a new plateau!