ACCLAIMED BOSTON JAZZ VOCALIST PATRICE WILLIAMSON
CELEBRATES ELLA FITZGERALD and JOE PASS
AT THE ARSENALCENTER FOR THE ARTS on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
"Possessed with a smooth, honey-colored voice and intonation as flawless as Ella Fitzgerald's,"
- Rick Anderson, The All-Music Guide to Jazz
It's no wonder that Patrice Williamson has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald, because since hearing Fitzgerald sing "A Tisket, A Tasket" (about that now famous yellow basket), she's been a lifelong devotee. To celebrate Fitzgerald's enduring legacy as a jazz vocalist, Williamson will be performing at the Arsenal on Monday, February 15. The evening will include many love songs and jazz standards such as My Funny Valentine, I Thought About You and Take Love Easy. Joining her are celebrated guitarist Jon Wheatley, reflecting shades of Fitzgerald's notable collaborations with Joe Pass, distinguished Boston musicians Mark Shilansky on piano; Keala Kaumeheiwa on bass; and ??? on drums....
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ACCLAIMED BOSTON JAZZ VOCALIST PATRICE WILLIAMSON
CELEBRATES ELLA FITZGERALD and JOE PASS
AT THE ARSENALCENTER FOR THE ARTS on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15
"Possessed with a smooth, honey-colored voice and intonation as flawless as Ella Fitzgerald's,"
- Rick Anderson, The All-Music Guide to Jazz
It's no wonder that Patrice Williamson has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald, because since hearing Fitzgerald sing "A Tisket, A Tasket" (about that now famous yellow basket), she's been a lifelong devotee. To celebrate Fitzgerald's enduring legacy as a jazz vocalist, Williamson will be performing at the Arsenal on Monday, February 15. The evening will include many love songs and jazz standards such as My Funny Valentine, I Thought About You and Take Love Easy. Joining her are celebrated guitarist Jon Wheatley, reflecting shades of Fitzgerald's notable collaborations with Joe Pass, distinguished Boston musicians Mark Shilansky on piano; Keala Kaumeheiwa on bass; and ??? on drums.
This performance is a continuation of Williamson's brainchild, "Celebrating Ella" - a concert series leading up to Fitzgerald's 100th birthday on April 25, 2017.
Patrice Williamson grew up in Memphis, Tennessee in a home filled with song. Her late father, choir director of their local church's music ministry, introduced Patrice and her sister to both sacred music and the secular styles of greats like Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Lena Horne. With her mother's encouragement, Patrice took up the violin and made her musical debut at age four, playing a duet with her sister in front of the St. Stephen's congregation.
From then on, she was hooked on music and performing, adding piano and flute to her repertoire by age 11. Despite choosing a "practical" major when enrolling at the University of Tennessee, in her sophomore year, she realized her heart was elsewhere and changed her major to music, focusing on classical performance and serving as principal flutist for the university's opera and symphony orchestras. It wasn't until the conductor of the Studio Jazz Orchestra overheard her scatting during a rehearsal break, and immediately offered her a vocal solo, that she considered singing as a possible new path. Encouraged by the faculty jazz pianist Donald Brown, she headed to New England Conservatory to focus on her voice, under the guidance of award-winning RCA recording artist Dominique Eade.
Since then, Patrice has found her musical home in Boston where's she's a favorite fixture of the live music scene. Her sensitive interpretations and fluent scat style have earned her a coveted Best of Boston accolade and several Boston Music award nominations. Jazz Times magazine states that "Patrice Williamson isn't a singer, she's a one-woman jazz sampler·¬ She is a woman of many voices, each distinctly intriguing all distinctly her own." Both of her independent recordings My Shining Hour and Free to Dream received high praise from critics across the country.
Patrice is currently an Associate Professor in the Voice Department at Berklee College of Music and an applied faculty member at Tufts University.
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