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Hometown: St. Thomas, VI
Label: independent
Website: www.myspace.com
Sounds Like: Billie Holiday, Madeleine Peyroux, Norah Jones
Genre: Jazz
Southern and laid back, Christabel's classic delivery and stage presence often draws comparisons to Billie Holiday, Madeleine Peyroux, and Norah Jones. While the similarities are there, she’s also developed a sound that’s all her own with her sultry vocals and unique swing rhythm guitar style. She grew up influence by old jazz and country records in Knoxville, TN, and currently resides in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
She is joined by several exceptional musicians that vary from tour to tour. Christabel mixes her original songs with thoughtfully arranged jazz standards, western swing, and classic country for a sound she calls “Tennessee swing.”
Christabel has released 5 albums:
"Live at the New Knox Tasting Room" (2005)
“Love and Circumstances” (2006)
“Custom Made For You” (2008)
“Live from the Walnut Room” (2009)
“The Christmas Album” (2010).
Her sixth album, “The Same Mistake” is in the process of being recorded at Dirk Powell's studio in Lafayette, LA, with Eric Frey and Glenn Fields of the Red Stick Ramblers as the rhythm section. These new songs reflect the influence of her Caribbean home with layers of subtle bossa nova and samba beats.
Past performances include: Bonnaroo, Riverbend, Floydfest, Bele Chere, Blue Plum Festival, McMenamins, The Mediterranean Festival of the Arts in Crete, Shakori Hills Festival, Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Tennessee Shines, and Sundown in the City. They’ve also opened for many national acts including The Brazilian Girls, The Be Good Tanyas, The Red Stick Ramblers, The Wilders, and Loudon Wainwright. Christabel has recently been featured in Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazine.
To purchase an album online, please visit http://christabelmusic.bandcamp.com.
"This record is the mittens warming your hands on a cold winter's day and the hot chocolate taking the chill off your winter sledding. Christabel is Donna Reed, you are Jimmy Stewart, and it truly is a wonderful life."
stubbyschristmas.com
"This is easily the most romantic Christmas release of the year. Light the fire and uncork the wine."
Wayne Bledsoe - Knoxville News Sentinel
““I’d Like You For Christmas” is an overlooked classic that this Knoxville based roots/swing band takes and makes their own."”
songsillinois.net
"Simply titled "The Christmas Album", the vibe is jazzy and laid back, perfect for both a swanky holiday party or intimate dinner."
tistheseasons.blogspot.com
"This band has one of the best Christmas albums of the 2010 season."
christmasyuleblog.blogspot.com
"I have to say that, so far, this is definitely my favorite new Christmas album of 2010."
falalalala.com
“[they] alternate between upbeat country shuffles, torchy, sophisticated, retro jazzy pop and occasional indie-folk with a playful yet terse backdrop of understated guitar lit up in places with accordion, trumpet and violin, propelled by a briskly tasteful rhythm section.”
Alan Young - Lucid Culture
“a colorful palette of old-time swing and honky-tonk inflections... leading lady Christa DeCicco casts a spell on her audience with her alluring, good-natured presence and lyrical wit while leading a procession of unplugged strings and percussion.”
unknown - Creative Loafing
“Despite the band's vintage dresses and suits and unassuming stage presence, smooth and sultry DeCicco's lyrics deliver thoroughly modern tales of love won and lost with wit and passion.”
Anthony Fanger - End Times Spasm Band
“Awfully nice to see a group working in an oldtimey milieu yet with a sound all their own.”
Alan Young - Lucid Culture
“...the tunes are as catchy as any modern pop song. Lead singer Christa DeCicco’s sassy speakeasy croon gleefully dances with the boys’ Tin Pan Alley instrumentation, and her lyrical prose is sharper than ever.”
unknown - Muruch
"Their new album, Custom Made for You, would sound at home on a 1930s phonograph or in a juke joint crammed with swing dancers in saddle shoes and suspenders."
Leslie Wylie - The Metro Pulse
"The songs, from the languid opener to the bouncing title track, hum with an independent, feminine energy. It's a sensual-sounding album that comes across as playful and flirtatious..."
Steve Wildsmith - The Daily Times
"The group's debut album, "Love and Circumstances," introduced audiences to DiCicco's warm, sometimes sultry voice and a band that knows how and when to swing. The group manages to sound both retro with its acoustic country and jazz, and modern at the same time."
Wayne Bledsoe - Knoxville News Sentinel
