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Belinda Underwood and Benny Green at Steamers, 1/26-27 |
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Written by Ronaldo Oregano
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Wednesday, 10 January 2007 |
 Belinda Underwood © Andrea Canter Portland vocalist and bassist, Belinda Underwood along with special
guest pianist, Benny Green will appear at Steamers in Fullerton,
California for two nights, January 26th and 27th. The band also
features Dan Lutz on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums.
With sultry, hypnotic
vocals and frank, emotional original lyrics, Belinda Underwood offers an
alternative to some of today's "cooler" jazz vocalists. Her voice draws
you in with unfiltered feelings and subtle hints of human frailty. She
says that her CD, Underwood Uncurling
describes aspects of the previous three years of her life through three
different recording sessions. "I feel like some sort of
plant that is opening itself slowly as it grows. The songs on the album
reflect my unfolding as an artist and as a person."
 Belinda Underwood © Andrea Canter
After a childhood of
violin lessons, harp lessons, orchestras and choirs, music became her
choice when she fell in love with the upright bass at age sixteen. In
high school she traveled as a bass player (on scholarship) to Australia
with the Monterey Jazz Festival Honor Band, and in college she played
and traveled with the UC Berkeley Wednesday Band. Singing
professionally didn't occur to her until years later when she was
playing the bass at the Jazz School in Berkeley. "It was hard for me
sometimes, to translate my musical thoughts onto the bass during
improvisation. There were lines in my head but my fingers couldn't find
them fast enough, and rather than get frustrated during practice, I
would just SING the bass solo "
 Benny Green
Piano master Benny Green is an
exciting and hard-swinging pianist in the Bud Powell mold. Green ranks
alongside Mulgrew Miller and Donald Brown as one of a number of
talented hard-bop keyboard stars to have graduated from Art Blakey's
Jazz Messengers training ground. During America's hard-bop revival of
the '80s, Green established his own distinctive voice as the
leader of a number of bands.
After high school, Green moved to the West Coast and freelanced
around the San Francisco Bay Area, gaining experience working as a
sideman. But it was after his return to New York in the spring of 1982
that Green's career took a sharp upward turn. Benefiting from studies
with Walter Bishop Jr., he joined Betty Carter's band in April 1983 and
began a four-year stint of performing, recording and learning with
jazz's most respected vocalist. The piano chair in Art Blakey's
prestigious Jazz Messengers followed, as well as a year with the
Freddie Hubbard Quintet in 1989. Green joined Ray Brown's Trio in 1992
and was with it un Brown's death.
Hear Belinda Underwood with Benny Green at Steamers Jazz Club on
January 26th and 27th. Steamers is located at 138 W Commonwealth Ave,
Fullerton, CA 92832. 714-871-8800. |