Search - Pamela Hines :: New Christmas

New Christmas features 3 of Jazz s outstanding vocalists and each contribute a unique and personal style to their tunes, penned by Pamela Hines. Vocalists April Hall, Monica Hatch and Patrice Williamson, all from the Boston area, have numerous CD s and performances to their credit. They continue to be in-demand and active performers in Boston and beyond. Hall, who has been on 3 of Hines earlier CD s is known for her bluesy, soulful singing style and fronts blues and jazz bands that have appeared at places such as The Top of the Hub in Boston. The Berklee grad appears often with her saxophone playing husband, Tom Hall, and they released a CD of jazz gems in late 2008. Hatch, who studied at Julliard, is a multi- dimensional singer, at home on a classical or jazz stage, with CD s of both genres to her credit. Her voice earned her a Downbeat Magazine Award and she spent 5 years as a radio host on WICN, Worcester, MA, before leaving to devote more time to music. Williamson, who graduated from New England Conservatory, is well known for her scat talents. She has numerous jazz festivals to her credit and teaches at the New School and Wellesley College. She is a member of the popular acapella jazz group, ESP. The vocal trio released a new CD in 2007. Bassist Dave Landoni is a Berklee grad who has performed with many of the greats including Bobby Short, Herb Pomeroy and Hal Galper. He currently teaches at Salem State College. Drummer Miki Matsuki, from Japan, graduated from Berklee and the Longy School of Music. She has played with Wynton Marsalis, Darren Barrett and Joanne Brackeen and her band was voted Best of Berklee in 2000. Hines is celebrating her tenth year in the national spotlight as a jazz artist. This is her second all-original vocal jazz CD. She was a guest on Piano Jazz with Marian McPartland in 2000 and received her MM from New England Conservatory in 1998. "I tried to compose jazz tunes that were in the mainstream, American Songbook style, as opposed to edgier instrumental songs that I've written for previous CDs. When I researched lyrics of classic Christmas tunes, I found a lot of simply stated Christmas themes. So, some of these tunes are light, celebratory and will hopefully inspire joy for the listener. With other compositions, I tried to tell a story and include the Christmas theme within the story and these came out with more poignancy," says Hines.