Amanda Carr    REVIEWS/PRESS

   DOWNBEAT .. JUNE 2010

This Boston-area big band is staffed with fine players and classy arrangers. Adi Yeshaya’s chart sets up the opener with a latin feel, breaking to hard swinging bass when the vocal enters, ending with a nicely paced ritard. Hadley is a no-nonsense big band drummer (with a predilection for mallets a la Vernel Fournier); Carr is an understated singer who reminds somewhat of Julie London with the clear diction of Annie Ross, without being as sultry or as bombastic, either. The songs are cherry-picked by someone with perspective. Although Carr confesses no initial desire to sing standards—“It would be like driving my parents’ station wagon”—her singer mother got her hooked after asking her to sub on a big band gig 16 years ago. Subsequently, Carr has worked with the repertory bands of Artie Shaw, Harry James and Glenn Miller, and this is her fifth self-release. Hadley, who revived his big band especially for this date, hired arranger Richard Lowell—a veteran of Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Bob Freedman, who created settings for Diane Reeves and Lena Horne—to frame Carr’s voice. Cute Freedman horn lines dry- ly respond to Carr’s reading of “They All Laughed.” Carr’s cautionary savvy makes “I Could Have Told You” effecting and plausible; she rarely breaks loose, preferring the insouciant storytelling of a Peggy Lee, though the personal tragedy touched on in the liner notes suggests undercurrents to “The End Of A Love Affair.” The band are superbly professional, with a nice feature for trombonist Jeff Galindo and altoist Marc Phaneuf on “Broadway,” buoyant bop backdrops on “Just You, Just Me” and juicy old-school tenor solos from Arnie Krakowsky. —Michael Jackson

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL .. FEB 2010

....with the recent release of "Common Thread" by singer Amanda Carr and the Kenny Hadley Big Band (OMS), the swinging, welcoming momentum of the 35 years (1920-55) of the big-band era has come alive again. This is not a collection of archival facsimiles. From George Gershwin's "They All Laughed" to Dizzy Gillespie's "I Waited for You," this band—its sections, soloists, arrangers and the joyfully romantic Ms. Carr—is invigorating the legacy of that fabled era with its own interpretations, stories to share among its members and us... Nat Hentoff

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JAZZIZ MAGAZINE .. SPRING 2010

A classic big-band style singer, Amanda Carr soars effortlessly -- and without bombast ---over large ensemble accompaniment. On her recording Common Thread , the Boston-based vocalist once again teams up with drummer Kenny Hadley, who contributed to the success of her 2007 small-group recording Soon. But this time, Carr’s in the company of Hadley’s 16-piece big band. The singer displays terrific taste as she invests plenty of wit and warmth into her interpretations of songbook standards such as “They All Laughed”, “There’s a Small Hotel” and “No Moon at All.” The big band swings from the get-go on the album-opening “It’s a Big Wide Wonderful World.” included here, as Carr delivers a sunny, upbeat read of the charming lyric. “When you’re in love you’re a hero,” she sings, “a Nero, Apollo, the Wizard of Oz.” The singer and the band then go on to re-create that giddy feeling.

JAZZTIMES

Bostonian Amanda Carr can make the remarkable claim of having performed with the Artie Shaw, Harry James and Glenn Miller orchestras. True, they were all modern-day “ghost” versions of those classic outfits, but such experience finds her well prepared for her first big-band album, fronting the 16-piece ensemble that drummer Kenny Hadley has been leading on and off for more than 20 years. Hadley and Carr first teamed two years ago for Soon, a fine collection of standards in a small group setting that seemed ideally suited to her elegantly intuitive, Carmen McRae-meets-Nancy Wilson style.

That same vibe, sturdy enough to hold its own against a wall of brass yet never lacking in warmth or intimacy, serves her equally well across this multihued 15-track set. She can toss off upbeat swingers like “It’s a Big Wide Wonderful World” and “Don’cha Go ’Way Mad” with the insouciant, penthouse sophistication of Lee Wiley, and just as winningly downshift to the cozier shimmer of “Just You, Just Me,” “There’s a Small Hotel” and “No Moon at All.” Which still leaves room for plenty of top-drawer balladry, particularly on a fog-bound “How Am I to Know” and a tenderly pensive “Something Wonderful Happens in Summer.” Christopher Loudon

THE BOSTON PHOENIX

“... The swing is undeniable, her freedom around the beat, the aptness of her phrasing, her ability to blend with the other musicians.” Jon Garelick

THE BOSTON HERALD

“Common Thread is a class act, the kind of smooth, swinging and subtle big band-plus-singer album they don’t make anymore. Hingham-born Amanda Carr’s slightly tart, confirent and blessedly unironic take on the songbook leads the way. But the re-formed Boston-based Kenny  Hadley Big Band also shoulders the load, exuding precision and sophistication in the spirit of beloved late Hub bandleader Herb Pomeroy, whose influence on the project is beautifully apparent. Finally, all-world arranger Bob Freedman manages to be both classic and full of surprises. “Common Thread” is the complete package packed with local stars and stars-to-be, and not to be missed by any jazz fan.”        Kevin Convey

LA JAZZ SCENE

Amanda Carr, who began her career in the 1980s performing Top-40 tunes, switched gears completely after discovering the joy of singing standards in the mid-1990s. She has a warm and expressive voice, can improvise well, and fully understands the lyrics that she interprets. Joined by the 16-piece Kenny Hadley Big Band, her performances benefit a great deal from the writing of Bob Freedman, who wrote six of the 15 charts especially for this CD. In addition to some familiar tunes (which usually contain plenty of surprises), such superior obscurities as “It's A Big Wide Wonderful World,” “Something Wonderful Happens In Summer,” “I Understand” and “I Could Have Told You” are successfully revived. Along the way, such soloists as tenor-saxophonist Arnie Krakowsky, trombonist Jeff Galindo and guitarist John Wilkins are heard from with “Broadway” and “I Waited For You” (a feature for trumpeter Rick Hammett) being instrumentals. Amanda Carr, who has performed with many big bands during the past decade, sounds perfectly at home in this setting and is comfortable at every tempo, swinging happily on “No Moon At All.” This is one of her finest recordings to date. Scott Yanow

All About Jazz

If vocalist Amanda Carr were a place, she would probably be Rodeo Drive, Chicago's Magnificent Mile, or New York's elegant 57th Street. With Common Thread, she validates the fact that she has the vocal elegance, phrasing sophistication, premier jazz chops, and the sheer class to back up that hypothesis. Complemented beautifully here by Kenny Hadley's cooking Big Band (comprised of some of Boston's finest "beans"), Carr embarks on a savvy, swinging tour of some of the better and not-so-well-known tunes from the Great American Songbook. The result is simply classic.....Amanda Carr and Kenny Hadley deserve significant credit for pulling together a truly successful vocal-big band effort in the classic manner. There's nothing bland or boring here, only a chanteuse and a big band and absolutely first class musicianship. ....A swinging, superb effort. Nick Mondello

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Jazz Society of Oregon - CD REVIEW

I guess we all have to sit up and take notice when Nat Hentoff tells us in the Wall Street Journal, “Amanda Carr is a true jazz singer in a time of wannabes.” The Boston area singer works hand in glove with a bevy of Beantown’s best in Kenny Hadley’s Big Band. Carr sings on key and respects melody lines but doesn’t shy away from the subtleties that earn that monicker of jazz singer. The tunes, all skillfully arranged for big band, include “They All Laughed,” “Time on My Hands,” “There’s a Small Hotel” and a bunch more. It’s nice to see younger generation singers discovering these A+ songs, thus keeping them accessible. And it’s particularly pleasing to hear them interpreted honestly and with a quality orchestral backing. Nicely done!      George Fendel and Kyle O’Brien 09

Ken Frankling’s - JazzNotes

This disc is terrific on a number of levels. It captures swinging singer Amanda Carr at her finest. It marks the hopeful rebirth of the Boston-based Kenny Hadley Big Band after a seven-year absence, featuring many of the area’s finest jazz soloists. And it shines new attention on more than a dozen great big band arrangements crafted for this unit and Carr’s pleasant and direct delivery. And there’s another bonus. They stay away from the so-called “tired tunes” in the Great American Songbook, choosing instead to bring freshness and introduce new ears to a lot of under-performed gems. My favorites -”Something Wonderful Happens in Summer,” “I Understand” and Irving Berlin’s “The Song is Ended (But the Melody Lingers On).” There’s also a wonderful instrumental showcase for trumpeter Rick Hammett, who arranged the rarely heard Dizzy Gillespie-Walter Fuller tune “I Waited for You.” Also worth noting: Carr and Hadley have started American Big Band Preservation Society, Inc., a pending 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is “to preserve and promote American big band music through the preservation and performance of the great American songbook with an emphasis on acquiring, preserving and making publicly available unpublished big band arrangements.” The Web site is: http://http://www.americanbigband.org/.                  10/2009

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 2007

“Amanda Carr, a true jazz singer in a time of wannabes. . . she sings and swings with the unaffected confidence of a genuine jazz improviser. I’ve rarely heard a jazz singer fuse so naturally and pleasurably.... She is an authentic musician in the front line with her longtime colleagues on "Soon" . .  NAT HENTOFF

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JERSEY JAZZ 08

Soon ... by AMANDA CARR is one of those albums that feels right from the very beginning right through to the last notes. This Boston-based vocalist is right on is her renderings of twelve pop and jazz standards. She sounds like the kind of vocalist that you might have seen singing in the club that was a central part of the old Peter Gunn television series if Lola Albright had not been already on the scene. The tunes are wonderfully chosen, as is the band consisting of Arnie Krakowsky on tenor sax, John Wilkins on guitar, Bronek Suchanek on bass, Kenny Hadley on drums and percussion. The tracks that really stood out for me were “Easy Street,” “Soon,” “Flamingo, “Funny (Not Much),” and a killer “Good Bait.”  Amanda Carr is not a newcomer to the jazz vocal scene, but this is my first exposure to her artistry.  I shall make sure that it is not my last.   Joseph Lang -- New Jersey Jazz Society 12/08

JERSEY JAZZ 09

Put a fine vocalist with a strong and swinging big band, add a program of classy standards, and the results are likely to be palatable to the ears of those who dig good music.  The matching of AMANDA CARR with the Kenny Hadley Big Band on Common Thread (OMS Records – 1226) is just such a setting, and they absolutely nail the 14 tunes that they have chosen, with the band adding one instrumental track for good measure.  Carr has been singing around the Boston area since the 1980s, first in a pop/rock settings, but since the mid-1990s she has concentrated on the Great American Songbook, and that has been a good thing for her and the tunes.  She has a fine voice, superb jazz influenced phrasing, and a terrific sense of swing.  Having the Hadley crew for support is a great benefit.  This band was a fixture on the Boston scene for over two decades, but had to give in to the financial realities of the jazz world several years ago, and disbanded.  They were reformed for this project, and have found new life.  The opener, “It’s a Big Wide Wonderful World,” is a fitting choice for this big wide wonderful album.  Tracks that particularly caught my ear were “Something Wonderful Happens in Summer,” “I Understand,” “Just You, Just Me,” “I Could Have Told You So,” and “How Am I to Know.”  Rick Hammet’s arrangement of the Dizzy Gillespie/Walter Fuller composition, “I Waited for You,” is the only instrumental track, and Hammet shines on his trumpet solo.  Carr and Hadley have done two prior albums with a small group, and this is a natural and appealing next step.  Joe Lang 2009

JAZZ IMPROV Magazine

 While a “new standards” movement has been brewing for a while, there are still plenty of musicians guarding and promoting the old chestnuts from the Great American Songbook. Vocalist Amanda Carr is one such person.. and she does so with great style and class.... While the popularity and longevity of these songs is based on their lyrical and musical content, the ultimate success lies in the delivery and Carr proves to be an ace in this department.     Dan Bilawsky  2008

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ALLABOUTJAZZ.com  

 2008 Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing vocalist Amanda Carr perform an impromptu duet with the great jazz vocalist Giacomo Gates at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in New York. … I was so impressed by her talent, spirit and onstage charm that I felt compelled to pick up soon. I'm very glad I did.… Soon wastes no time in demonstrating Carr as a vocalist who can burn and cool. an extremely talented, delightfully engaging vocal artist. Amanda Carr is—to coin my daughter's phrase—”amazable.” Nick Mondello     visit www.allaboutjazz.com for more     

The New York Sun

 “... Amanda Carr, a talented female vocalist ....” Will Friedwald -“The Gates of Eccentricity”   4/08

L.A. Jazz Scene

Amanda Carr gives the Great American Songbook quite and uplifting interpretation.... She’s original!!... this singer is well on her way to international renown. Soon predicts her future with certainty... Carr has the right stuff, and her album proves that beyond a doubt.   Jim Santella 11/2007

Worcester Magazine

 “Listening to Soon, her fourth release, one notices the level of maturity she brings to the show. Rather than wow you with vocal histrionics, Carr sings the melody straight with an emotional restraint that is refreshing. At the same time, she reads a lyric with complete understanding. In the process we hear Carr singing her song. It’s the mark of a great jazz singer. Hentoff certainly recognized it; maybe it’s time she does as well.”  Chet Williamson 11/07          (Click here to read entire article)

TOKYO Jazz Critique Magazine

 “... although the CD jacket is really wonderful, the music inside is even better. This is one of the best records I’ve purchased recently. ...Amanda has “real” singing ability and treats the material in a delightfully unique way. ...“If You Could See Me Now” demonstrates her taste for nostalgia.... It’s hard not to like her voice on everything she sings.” Iwanami  11/07

The HARTFORD COURANT 

“ Instead of sounding as if she's reading her lines for the first time ever from cue cards, Amanda Carr is a rare singer who gets inside a song's lyrics, convincing you that all the emotions expressed have actually been lived by her. Another one of the Boston-based vocalist's virtues is that she never goes for overkill, that common compulsion to mercilessly inflict every single item in your musical tool kit on your audience as if you're competing on "American Idol."With warm backing from first-rate Boston musicians, Carr applies these two fundamental principles to a zesty mix of what she calls "hidden jewels" from the American Songbook.With her smooth-running rides through tunes ranging from George and Ira Gershwin's "Soon" to Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me," Carr finds success without excess.Her hip minimalism in no way means that she can't swing. Swing she does on an eye-opening, uptempo version of "Close Your Eyes. Nor does her moral objection to overkill imply any lack of wise embellishment, as on her wry bending of the rhyming words "guise" and "eyes" on "If You Could See Me Now." Carr and her partners in swing are a true collective, a musical family. Her emphatically empathetic collaborators are guitarist John Wilkins, tenor saxophonist Arnie Krakowsky, bassist Bronek Suchanek and drummer Kenny Hadley. Seasoned pros, they checked their egos but not their creativity at the door.”  Owen McNally 11/07

JAZZ USA

“Soon” is worth multiple spins!Matthew Robinson 07/ 07

BOSTON MAGAZINE

“Amanda Carr’s rich alto, expressive lyrics and intimate stage presence are marks of an exciting new jazz vocalist.”

RADIOPHONE, GREECE

 As an offspring of jazz musicians the Bostonian singer knew how to choose classical songs from the American repertoire to present in her forth album. The compositions she opted for are the ones with which the average listener would confirm the jazz perform stereotype. Her voice is characterized by a slightly masculine timbre but never lacks expression, which appeals to our many listeners. Her new release is exceptional and has received a great response. Studying her musical preferences we can suspect that her tastes go well behind her songs. And if we are allowed to make a comment regardless of the good quality in her music, the photo of her on the cover does not do her justice. George Politopoulis, October 2007

BOSTON HERALD

“From the oversize gig to the warm confines of a jazz club, last evening I sat and watched Amanda Carr sing a mix of standards and lesser known tunes that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the power of desire. Carr was a guest on my late 1990’s talk show on WRKO, where she showed incredible poise by singing with nothing but acoustic guitar accompaniment. Her voice is like a soft blanket that surrounds you and instantly provides a sense of comfort and contentment. Blessed with a wonderful range, you hear every word, and the lowest notes are the sweetest. Somewhere in the set at Scullers I recalled why my father said he loved Sarah Vaughan so much - it was that compelling low end that brought home the songs so effortlessly. Carr recorded an album in Italy, but we can claim her as Boston’s own. Don’t miss her when she brings her romantic style and smile to a stage near you. The pop culture landscape may be filled to the brim with fakers who can’t hold a note, but Amanda Carr is the real thing, and yes, I would pay to hear her sing the phone book.” --- Tai Irwin 11/06

FOUR STARS: All MUSIC GUIDE!!!

 “With so many female vocalists releasing new jazz CDs in a given year, it is extremely difficult to grab one's attention; Amanda Carr's CD, though released by a small label, has the ingredients necessary to do so......Amanda Carr deserves greater attention in the jazz world." -- Ken Dryden

JAZZREVIEW.com

"Female jazz vocalists seem all the rage at the moment, yet despite this fact, few seem to gain much attention from the general public....Her warm alto voice coupled with her expressive phrasing make her a first-rate vocalist.....Carr’s fine delivery and easy swinging style elevates what could be standard jazz vocal album to an exceptional listening experience. This is one CD that I’m sure you’ll play over and over again." -- Lawrence Williams

RHAPSODY.com

“Amanda is a very good jazz singer who displays Carmen McRae's control and Diana Krall's sporty good looks She is more daring than Krall.getting into Bop, but like McRae Carr keeps the experimentation focused on the song at hand. Carr has performed with James Moody and the ArtieShaw Big Band, but her own backing group is featured to good effect here. Along with standards, Carr has written a few tasty originals.” -- Nick Dedina

ALL ABOUT JAZZ

"More and more, jazz singers seem determined to present their versions of Abbey Lincoln's “Throw It Away,” and Carr doesn't disappoint with her take on the tune....I enjoyed Tender Trap and look forward to Amanda Carr's next venture." Michael P. Gladstone