Daniela Clynes
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British vocalist Daniela Clynes has worked extensively as a jazz & cabaret singer, leading various bands since completing the Guildhall School of Music post graduate jazz course, in the early '90s. Her first quintet formed with saxophonist, Martin Hathaway led to a songwriting collaboration, with Daniela providing lyrics to Martins original compositions. She also formed a ten piece fusion group with trumpeter Noel Langley and pianist Peter Churchill called "Calumet", (including Roger Beaujolais-vibes, Ralph Salmins-drums, Pete Eckford-percussion) for performances at the Barbican Centre, London UK.
During these early years in her career, Daniela made appearances as guest soloist with the Michael Garrick Ensemble, Eclectic Voices, and the London Jazz Orchestra.
A cabaret-based band was formed with Noel Langley for dates at the Pizza on the Park, London, where Daniela has performed regularly to full houses since 1995. In Jan/Feb 1999 Daniela's first 'live' album was recorded at this venue, featuring the unique talents of pianist Liam Noble, bass player Geoff Gascoyne and drummer Clark Tracey.
An invitation to take part in a three week workshop with other performers from various stylistic backgrounds; led to Daniela originating the role of the 'American Wife' in the opera "Hotel", written by award winning playwright Caryl Churchill and composer Orlando Gough. This Second Stride production, directed by Ian Spink, toured England and Germany in 1996 and 1997.
A year later, Orlando Gough and Richard Chew created an eighteen piece a' capella vocal group "The Shout", of which Daniela was an original member, alongside names such as Ian Shaw, Carol Grimes, Melanie Pappenheim, Wayne Ellington, and Manikam Yogeswara .
Daniela remained with The Shout through hugely successful seasons at London venues - the Drill Hall, BAC, Purcell Room, the National Portrait Gallery & the Roundhouse plus national tours and radio & television broadcasts. Their debut album, "Arrival" was released in 2001.
Daniela created her first one woman show, "Childsplay", which ran at the Canal Cafe Theatre during the summer of '95; and the theatre subsequently asked her to create a Christmas show later that year.
Her most recent one woman show, "Journey", is based on the true story of a woman's life from surviving the Warsaw Ghetto escaping to Israel in 1950, and moving to England to begin a 'third life' in 1960. It features James Pearson (piano) and Sam Burgess (bass); and is a combination of the structural storytelling of theatre with the spontaneous creativity of jazz. Premiered at the Pizza on the Park at the end of 2000, the show moved to the Kings Head Theatre, Islington in July 2001 where it was filmed.
Her Jazz collaborations include lyric writing for compositions by UK musicians /composers Django Bates & Iain Ballamy, Martin Hathaway, Anita Wardell and American guitarist, Ron Affif.
In 2000, Daniela formed a quartet with Jonathan Gee (piano), Sam Burgess (bass) & Clark Tracey (drums) for a performance at the London Jazz Festival. The quartet then recorded Daniela's first studio album 'Gentle Persuasion' in 2001.
Daniela then flew to the USA for recording sessions to add horns and percussion tracks from some of New Yorks finest musicians - Clark Gayton (trombone), Kenny Rampton (trumpet), Jay Collins (sax) and Eddie Bobe (latin percussion). The resulting album, "Gentle Persuasion" is out on new, independent label Mistress Music, and was launched at the 606 Club, London in 2003. Further acclaimed performances around London followed at Pizza Express Dean Street and the Vortex.
Daniela has been based in New York for the past three years; and in addition to performing there, also travels extensively to perform at venues in Europe and elsewhere. Currently living and performing in London, and presenting a regular programme of jazz on BBC Radio Kent, which can be heard online across the world.
[edit] ALBUM REVIEW - FROM JAZZ REVIEW MAGAZINE
"London based singer Daniela Clynes launches her own label with this sometimes soulful, often ecstatic, always highly musical and imaginative collection of songs, recorded in London and New York during 2001. Even a casual glance at Clynes set-list suggested that I was in for something promising Kineret? Not heard of that before. The Midnight Sun by Lionel Hampton and Johnny Mercer? Havent come across that in years. In The Wee Small Hours and Lover Come Back To Me? Fair enough because its in the context of such interesting and unusual material, and its great to see Clynes's generous nod towards the contemporary British jazz scene with tunes by Iain Ballamy and Django Bates, and by Kenny Wheeler.
Of course none of the above would matter if she couldn't sing, but Clynes's ability to fuse a resourceful technique with her own distinctive sense of this is me is clear from the opening track. Kineret as it turns out is a Jewish tune that Clynes has decked out with sonorous brass arrangement and a driving rhythmic groove that, because of the tunes modal tendencies, sounds surprisingly Coltrane-like. Jonathan Gee picks up on similar vibes with a solo that evokes McCoy Tyner, and throughout Clynes soars elegantly above the ensemble, intoning the rising contours of the tune with operatic panache. Gentle Persuasion is the theme by Bates and Ballamy which Clynes has added her own lyric, and the track shows more playful and wry side to her musical persona than the barnstormer opening. Clynes's lyric is a charming piece of nonsense verse, reminiscent of Edward Lear, about a bird and a child who fly off into the sky together. She decorates the original line with deftly handled bird-like trills and puckish decorative turns that get underpinned by skittish figurations and spiky Latin percussion lines from the ensemble.
Of the standard material, Lover Come Back To Me is especially impressive, with Clynes incorporating adroitly borrowed Mark Muphysisms and a hearty belly-laugh into the flow. Child Of Man is intelligent pop, while the moody brass of Clark Gayton's arrangement for Midnight Sun places Clynes in a knowingly cod-1930s setting. However, Clynes leaves her most powerful statement to last. Farewell is a touching ballad to lost love, and mournful yet optimistic lyric is given added piquancy by a strangely contorted chromatic melodic line. I reckon that ballad performances couldnt come much more honest than this, and this valedictory track ends an extraordinarily assured debut with an emotional blast."
[March 2004 - Philip Clark - Jazz Review Magazine]
