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Saturday, February 19th, 2011

8:00pm

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RACHELLE FERRELL FEATURING: Rachelle Ferrell, vocals Other musicians, TBA Rachelle Ferrell is unquestionably one of the most dynamic talents in contemporary pop music. Very few vocal artists in the industry have Ferrell's potent combination of range, phrasing, and musicianship. Such potency was made powerfully aware to Blue Note Record's head Bruce Lundvall who first heard Ferrell on a demo tape (while driving to the supermarket) and signed her shortly thereafter in 1990, after seeing her perform in Germantown, Pennsylvania. So impressed was Lundvall with her talents that he signed Ferrell to both the Blue Note Label and the Capitol Label, allowing her to funnel her talents through the prism of traditional jazz and R&B. In short, Rachelle Ferrell's talents transcend generic classification, and Lundvall had the foresight to realize such a fact. Lundvall quickly set out to plan Ferrell's coming out party via a showcase at the 1991 Montreux Jazz Festival. In the past, the showcase was used to introduced the talents of Dianne Reeves (also signed to both labels), Stanley Jordan, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Live at Montreux 91-97 captures Ferrell's moving debut at Montreux in July of 1991 and subsequent performances at the venue throughout the decade of the 1990s. Ferrell first emerged in the states with her R&B debut Rachelle Ferrell (1992), a solid collection of self-penned originals that featured a striking duet with Will Downing ("Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This"). It was with the release of First Instrument in 1994 that audiences were really introduced to Ferrell's jazz sensibilities. Many of the tracks eventually recorded for First Instrument were part of Ferrell's program at Montreux in 1991, and in both cases, she was backed by the Eddie Green Trio. But it's the live material that offers listeners, particularly those who have never heard Ferrell "live", the chance to witness her simply extraordinary live performance skills. Her recording Live at Montreux 91-97 features some of her greatest performances, including the clear highlights, "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "My Funny Valentine," and "I Can Explain." Ferrell is joined by longtime collaborator George Duke on "I'm Special," a track that would later appear on Rachelle Ferrell. Duke is also on keyboards for Ferrell's version of Cy Coleman's "With Every Breath I Take" (drawn from Ferrell's appearance at Montreux in July of 1997). Also taken from that appearance are Ferrell's performances of "Me Viola Seul" and "On Se Reveillera," where she is backed by members of the WCR Big Band Cologne. There was a six-year gap between the releases of First Instrument and Individuality, so the release of Live in Montreux 91-97 was a welcomed release from an artist who admittedly has had less than a consistent presence in the studio. Live in Montreux 91-97 is a literally a "best of," more so because it captures Ferrell at her best -- on stage and pushing the boundaries.