Her new release, EUGENIE, produced by the acclaimed bassist and bandleader Lonnie Plaxico, casts a spotlight on Jones' lyricism as a songwriter with 32 published songs to her credit. Her keen lyricism is elevated by an adaptive vocal style that powerfully flexes between hard-swinging jazz classics, sultry blues numbers, and passionate renderings of emotively gripping ballads.
EUGENIE is Jones’ sixth release on OPEN MIC Records. Writer C. Michael Bailey wrote about Jones' new project, saying, "Eugenie Jones has been releasing exceptional jazz-oriented recordings for the last decade. Her writing is beautifully grown up and real and her voice is warm, humidly pliant with a deeply sensual center that she uses expressively with greater validity and genuineness than most better-known singers."
EUGENIE was recorded in New York and Seattle with sixteen musicians. The New York sessions feature Lonnie Plaxico on bass, pianists Brandon McCune and Mamiko Watanabe; Russell Carter on drums; Rico Jones on saxophone; trumpeter Gil Defay; Jessica Wang on cello; violinist Yoojin Park and percussionist Kahlil Bell.
Plaxico also served as the project's producer. "It was an honor to produce and perform with Eugenie Jones on her recording. She is laser-focused, full of expression, energy, and passion, with a voice that's original and soulful. The selection of songs and Eugenie's original music is an atmospheric experience," states Plaxico.
The Seattle musicians included pianists Darrius Willrich and Peter Adams; saxophonist Alex Dugdale; guitarist Michael Powers; bassists Elliot Kuykendall and Chris Symer; drummer Ronnie Bishop and Ernesto Pediangco on percussion.
The album features thirteen selections, including seven "Eugenie-ized" interpretations of jazz standards and soul classics, and six original songs, including the satin smooth stringed ballad, "Starlight Starbright," followed by a contemporary midtempo, bluesy arrangement of the Peggy Lee classic, "I Love Being Here with You," played with a slower, more evocative groove.
On Earle Hagen's "Harlem Nocturne," Jones evokes the ebony embers of an upper Manhattan after-hours club in the 1920s, with wonderfully shaped tones matched and sublimely buoyed by the horn play of saxophonist Rico Jones. Jones' enthralling rendition of Marvin Gaye's hit "Trouble Man," a song from the same-titled 1972 movie, arranged by Plaxico, retains its jazz edge and big-city swagger. Jones' rendition of the Nat Adderley/Oscar Brown classic, “Work Song," features Jones' powerful vocal extremes, the luminous horn play of trumpeter Gil Defay, with stop-time syncopations highlighted by a hard-time melody.
In Jones' original, "Hold Back the Night," soothing tones build to a crescendo carrying the message of standing strong against life's troubles. "It's Okay," an original sassy Latin breakup song characterized by an upbeat bossa nova feel is followed by the percussion-propelled, bluesy swagger of "Say What You Will," with its reap-what-you-sow lyrics.
The swinging, mainstream-motored "Why I Sing," in which Jones proclaims—"drive, drive, drive to wherever jazz lives!"—is arguably her most autobiographical song. Lyrically, highlighting the two most important days in one's life as the day one is born and the day one discovers why they're here, encouraging listeners to stay true to their life dreams. The album concludes with the widely sampled Nina Simone track "Sinnerman," reimagined from its gospel jazz origins into a rhythmic groove driven by drums, bass, and percussion.
EUGENIE exemplifies how far Jones has come in the short life of her ten-year musical career. 'I did not study music in school. I graduated with an MBA and worked in nonprofit and corporate marketing communications before realizing my inherent musical abilities, which I believe I inherited from my mother." Jones' mother, a soprano gospel singer, was the singer of the family, and when cancer claimed her life, Jones managed her grief by setting out to see if she could carry forward that part of her mom's life.
With a hard-won, international following, #7-ranking on the Jazz Week’s Top 50, and #30-ranking on their Top 100 Albums of the Year list, the singer has achieved significant accomplishments in her ten-year career. The International Jazz Association recognized Jones with the Jazz Hero Award for her community work, intersecting jazz with community service. In 2023, the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame inducted Jones, standing alongside prior iconic recipients like Buddy Catlett, Julian Preister, Ernestine Anderson, and Jovino Santos Neto.
With five highly praised releases to her credit, EUGENIE reflects the continued evolution of Jones' gorgeous, jazz-honed vocals and her intelligent lyricism that has earned the artist comparisons to legendary African American female songwriters that have proceeded her, including Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, and Irene Higginbotham.
With this new album and her previous releases, Jones has consistently showcased her unique blend of original vocal jazz and creative interpretations of beloved standards and jazzed-soul classics. Her music can move the soul, entertain, and attract new audiences while staying true to the genre. Listeners are in for a genuinely unforgettable jazz experience as Jones invites them into her “Eugenie-ized” world of music with her standing mantra invitation—"Welcome to jazz, you can feel."
Reflecting on her career, Jones shares, "Pursuing a music career is a Sisyphean act unlike any other I've taken on. But it brings an unmatched joy and purpose to my life. So, with this release, here I stand, rolling that boulder up the hill again."
Get ready for the release of EUGENIE, which will be available on all major streaming platforms on January 20, 2025. For more information and to stay updated on Jones' upcoming tour schedule, please visit www.eugeniejones.com (http://www.eugeniejones.com/).
Jasmin Espada
Espada PR LLC
+1 818-521-3807
jasmin@espadapr.com
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