QUOTABLE QUOTES"Priscilla Wright...Powerfully Wonderful!....absolutely Grade A cabaret jazz."
Cadence Magazine, New York"The sultry, yet coy vocals of Priscilla Wright add a complex elegance making this a magical event for player and listener alike."
Big Band World Magazine"(Priscilla) has a voice that is soft and warm and sings with a deep sense of conviction and imagination."
Jazz Canadiana Magazine: May 2004 TOP PICK
REVIEWS
CADENCE MAGAZINE, New York, U.S.A. Vol. 29, No. 11. November 2003
PRISCILLA WRIGHT - THE SINGER AND THE SONG - WRIGHT TOUCH 1000Reviewer: Alan Bargebuhr
"Priscilla Wright...Powerfully Wonderful!""This is Wright's first exploration of what she rightly calls 'standards from the great North American songbook.'
She had a hit as a youngster - "Man In A Raincoat" - and its inclusion as the final track is interesting insofar
as it enables one to gauge her advance since it was the hit that lifted her to an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
(Might she not have rubbed elbows or whatnots with John, Paul, George and you-know-who ?) Now, she is a grown
woman, as her musical utterances validate, and she knows how to use her small-to-medium, but beautifully warm
and pliable, soprano voice to inform every line she sings. Here she plays the ingénue just discovering love
("Lost in His Arms"), the buzzy huzzy ("Fever") slurring kisses and missus into kizzes and mizzes, the connoisseur
of love play ("Laughed"), and the knowing hipster ("Birdland"), for just a start. You can just about hear her grin
spreading through a manic "Black Magic", as well as hear the thread of desperation tugging at her sleeve during
"Goodbye", in which she finds depths that are easily the equal of those found by some in "Gloomy Sunday" and
other suicide songs. Her phrasing is flawless and her use of rhythmic variance resourceful. Some of Canada's
finest are in the two separate accompanying ensembles, both led by Bill King from the piano bench. Wilkinson's
trumpet is heard on "Do/Summer/Lullaby/Arms", while Murley's tenor is present on "You Don't/Foggy/Time".
Their statements are tight, tough, and to the point. Rob Piltch adds some nice guitar lines to "Laughed/Magic/Goodbye."
On this one, the singer and the song of the CD's title are well integrated and the result is absolutely grade A cabaret Jazz.
Top Pick - May 2004 - Priscilla Wright - "The Singer and The Song"
Reviewer: Colin Smith
Independent PWCD-1000Priscilla Wright is no stranger to the taste of the big time, and the sweet smell of success.
As a young kid, she had an international hit with "Man in a Rain Coat", and as a result was privileged
to perform with such artists as Elvis Presley, George Shearing and Ella Fitzgerald, who encouraged
her to continue singing. This CD is a collection of popular songs from the Great American Songbook
by composers such as George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mandel, Irving Berlin and Michel Legrand.She has a voice that is soft and warm and sings with a deep sense of conviction and imagination that seldom fails to capture
the listener's attention.This is a recording that has something for everyone, and it is easy to fall in love with the interpretation
of such songs as "A Foggy Day" and "They All Laughed". Amongst these memorable tracks is Michel Legrand's "The Summer Knows",
which is highlighted by some very remarkable and spirited trumpet playing by Jake Wilkinson.Priscilla is accompanied by a stellar band
of musicians which includes veteran drummer Archie Alleyne, bassist extraordinaire Don Thompson, pianist Bill King, bassist Kieran Overs
(on some tracks), guitarist Rob Piltch and saxophonist Mike Murley.After repeated sessions of listening, I am left with the feeling that
this recording tells the story of someone who has traveled varied musical paths and winding roads, coming out on the brighter side to sing about it.
