Joni Keen Biography
Established talent in Glasgow's Jazz scene, Joni Keen first came to light in the Glasgow Jazz Festival (2000) and since then has been going from strength to strength.
Jazz singer from Scotland Joni is one of the leading and most professional Jazz vocalists in Scotland.
Joni's new album "Ella, Oscar and Me" is a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. Joni's album "Fragile" includes songs from Gershwin to Tom Waits. Both albums are released by Circular Records and are availalbe via itunes.
What makes a good jazz singer? What makes any singer a good singer or any musician a good musician?It's not just technique, dynamics, phrasing, range; all of which Joni Keen has in abundance; it's the ability to drive all the horses at once and to set a course for the heart.
That's what all great music is about, touching the heart, allowing us to experience the common-personal emotions: love and longing, joy and sorrow, pain and healing.
I've known Joni since she wanted to be a jazz singer, through to now when she is a jazz singer. What a fantastic voyage it's been! 'Musicality' is hard to define and even harder to acquire, but from the first track of this little outing in the idiom, that's the word that comes to mind. And not least because of the choice of a group of musical talents that have the range and the chops to really drive this well away from the clichés and affectations of the 'jazz and jewellery' stylists.
There's an emotional maturity about Joni's performances here, a kind of sensitivity that can't be faked, it distinguishes her as a significant new interpreter not just of the standards but of a repertoire that is thoroughly satisfying in its breadth and originality. Much more than just a jazz calling card, here is a view from the plateau, and what a view!
David Sillars From Be-Bop to Hip Hop - BBC Radio Scotland
"The best ballad singer I've heard in decades"
Mark Murphy (Legendary Jazz Vocalist)
"The best ballad singer I've heard in decades"
Jazz singer from Scotland Joni is one of the leading and most professional Jazz vocalists in Scotland.
Joni's new album "Ella, Oscar and Me" is a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. Joni's album "Fragile" includes songs from Gershwin to Tom Waits. Both albums are released by Circular Records and are availalbe via itunes.
What makes a good jazz singer? What makes any singer a good singer or any musician a good musician?It's not just technique, dynamics, phrasing, range; all of which Joni Keen has in abundance; it's the ability to drive all the horses at once and to set a course for the heart.
That's what all great music is about, touching the heart, allowing us to experience the common-personal emotions: love and longing, joy and sorrow, pain and healing.
I've known Joni since she wanted to be a jazz singer, through to now when she is a jazz singer. What a fantastic voyage it's been! 'Musicality' is hard to define and even harder to acquire, but from the first track of this little outing in the idiom, that's the word that comes to mind. And not least because of the choice of a group of musical talents that have the range and the chops to really drive this well away from the clichés and affectations of the 'jazz and jewellery' stylists.
There's an emotional maturity about Joni's performances here, a kind of sensitivity that can't be faked, it distinguishes her as a significant new interpreter not just of the standards but of a repertoire that is thoroughly satisfying in its breadth and originality. Much more than just a jazz calling card, here is a view from the plateau, and what a view!
David Sillars From Be-Bop to Hip Hop - BBC Radio Scotland
"The best ballad singer I've heard in decades"
Mark Murphy (Legendary Jazz Vocalist)
"The best ballad singer I've heard in decades"
