Backed by a
premier jazz band, Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet
has captivated
audiences worldwide for over a decade with their tightly harmonized arrangements, inventive
lyrics, and unique renditions of classic jazz, swing, pop, originals, and
American songbook standards. UVJQ's voices combine in luscious harmonies,
sculpt melodies against countermelodies, and swing and pop rhythms against a
blazing instrumental backdrop. The ensemble's big band-like sound is
irresistably exciting, and the singers tell their stories through lyrics
that will make you smile.
Robert McBride, Ginny Carr, Roger Reynolds, Holly Bingham
Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet's Career Highlights:
La Nuit du Jazz – Nantes, France
- guest artists with 18 pc.
Cote
Ouest Big Band
Clearwater Jazz Holiday, FL
– international jazz festival, 25th anniversary (shared headliner
stage with Branford Marsalis, Neville Bros., Chris Botti, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy)
Ford
Detroit International Jazz Festival
(shared
headliner stage with Nancy Wilson, Mingus Big Band, Dr. John, Abbey Lincoln,
Joey DeFrancesco)
Ottawa
International Jazz Festival
(shared headliner stage with Tony Bennett, Sonny Rollins,
Pete Fountain
Festival
Miami
Four
Freshmen
,
opening act
NPR’s
Weekend Edition,
profiled by Susan Stamberg
Jazz
Smithsonian’s Jazz Singers
series, profiled by Al Jarreau
Richmond
Jazz Society, VA
concert series
Blowing
Rock Jazz Society, NC
concert series
Sanibel
Big Arts Concert Series, FL
Radio
Jazz Copenhagen,
profiled by Palle Christensen
Radio
Palermo, Buenos Aires, “La Guagua” Jazz,
on-air profile
Taiwan
Choral Music Center
Newsletter (profiled) – Taipei, Taiwan
Kennedy
Center Millennium Stage, DC
Washington Bach Consort, VA
Smithsonian Jazz Cafe, DC
Symphony
orchestras (various)-
guest artists
#2 spot,
Amazon.com - Top Jazz Sales
“Radio
From Downtown”,
featured musical guest, with NPR personalities, repeat appearances
Charlie
Byrd Tribute
concert series, VA
Chestertown Jazz Festival, MD
Greensburg Concert Series, PA
The
Mainstay Concert Hall, MD
Gettysburg Summer Concert Series,
PA
Bluemont Concert Series, VA
Lake Anne Concert Series, VA
Extensive
worldwide radio airplay, many stations & programs
UVJQ has also provided their special brand
of entertainment at many
professional conferences, private receptions, and VIP functions.
From the Press:
|
"Four Voices
blending together and just swinging like mad!" ---
Susan Stamberg, NPR
"Much
like Lambert, Hendricks and Ross or Manhattan Transfer, the UVJQ celebrates
swing and bop harmonic designs in ways that trick and delight the ear."
"A vocal ensemble blend that sounds utterly
natural and seamless, as if it were simply meant to be. [They] swing with a
nonchalance that belies the group's remarkably fine-tuned vocals." ---
Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
"Make some
room, Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices and Four Freshmen, for the innovative,
completely ear catching multi voiced renderings of Washington, D. C.' s Uptown
Vocal Jazz Quartet...There are few groups extant whose voices blend together
with such exciting harmonic synergy as this outfit from the Nation's
Capitol." ----
AllAboutJazz.com
"Evident throughout
[UVJQ's] " When the Sun Goes Down" (House Kat) are the Transfer's tight boy-girl-boy-girl harmonies, their sharp jazz instincts and, for the most part, their same good taste. [...] UVJQ deserves to be heard." ---
JazzTimes
"The Uptown
Vocal Jazz Quartet may not have invented this vocal style, but they perform it
with the confidence that suggests they did. The artistry and
professionalism that oozes from these uptowners places them in the game on
their own terms." --- Cadence Magazine
"They
create an incredible sonic whole,
much greater than the sum of its parts, though all are fine singers."
--- Eric Brace, The Washington Post
"If there's a
space for another vocal-jazz ensemble on the national scene, [Uptown Vocal Jazz
Quartet] is poised to claim it." ---
Washington City Paper |
Photo Gallery
Recordings
|
Last updated Jan. 20, 2008 |
