14 tracks of swinging jazz classics & lush ballads sung by one of the most passionate & exciting female jazz vocalists of our time, backed by the powerful 17-piece Reno Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live, then carefully edited, mixed, and mastered to delight!

14 MP3 Songs in this album (48:07) !
Related styles: Jazz: Swing/Big Band, Jazz: Jazz Vocals, Solo Female Artist

People who are interested in Ella Fitzgerald Natalie Cole Sarah Vaughan should consider this download.


Details:
Executive Producers: Cami Thompson & Scott Lenau
Music Producers: Cami Thompson & Guy Kowarsh
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered: Guy Kowarsh At Studio G
Cover Photograph by Jeff Ross, Jeff Ross Photography, Reno NV
Additional photos from live concert by Guy Kowarsh
CD designed by Cami Thompson; Done right by Steve Wilson at Jean Street Prods.
Duplication by Command Productions, Sausalito CA. www.CommandProductions.com
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âSwing! Swang! Swung!â is Camiâs 6th self-produced album. It began as a live benefit concert on February 6, 2006 at the Atlantis Casino in Reno, NV, which Cami asked recording engineer Guy Kowarsh to record on multiple tracks for a possible production or demo. The event was âA Note-Able Evening of Romanceâ, a fundraiser for The Note-Ables, a nonprofit organization providing music programs for children and adults with disabilities (visit http://www.note-ables.org/) Over the next four years, Guy would occasionally call Cami to encourage her to do something with what he thought was a potentially great CD. She had misgivings, displeased with her vocal performances the night of the concert, but she finally decided to give it a shot.

Cami says now: âI had no idea how much work it would take, re-recording my vocals to perfectly match the timing of the originals I sang 4 years before, while trying to fix some wrong words and pitchy notes. But I also had no idea how clever Guy was, nor how skillful he is in the studio, and what miracles he could accomplish sitting at that console! And from listening to the initial rough tracks, I had no idea how great the band was really playing, nor how wonderful the project would turn out. What a great surprise! Guy Kowarsh is a genius, transforming 14 great Big Band jazz tracks into a seamless non-stop concert CD, and Iâm so grateful he was tenacious enough to get me to co-create this project with him!â

Song Titles Composers, Lyricists, Year Written, Arrangers, Featured Soloists

1. Come Back to Me Music: Burton Lane; Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner; 1965
Arranged by Ernie Freeman; Featuring: Andy Heglund on Drums
2. I'm Beginning to See the Light Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James, 1944
Arranged by Mark Taylor; Featuring: Ensemble
3. When I Fall in Love Music: Victor Young; Lyrics: Edward Heyman, 1952, Arranged by Jerry Nowak
Featuring: Tony Cataldo, Trumpet; Jim Garaventa, Alto Sax
4. Taking a Chance on Love Music: Vernon Duke; Lyrics: John Latouche & Ted Fetter, 1940
Arranged by Dave Wolpe; Featuring: Bill Hecht, Piano
5. Caught A Touch of Your Love Music: Jack Keller; Lyrics: Craig Bickhart, James Best, 1987
Arranged by Count Basie Band; Featuring: Rich Lewis, Trombone
6. The Nearness of You Music: Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics: Ned Washington, 1938
Arranged by Al Cobine; Featuring: Tony Cataldo, Trumpet
7. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars Music: Antonio Carlos Jobim; English Lyrics: Gene Lees, 1962/1965
Arranged by Mr. Smith; Featuring: Mark Curry, Flugelhorn
8. I've Got the World On A String Music: Harold Arlen; Lyrics:Ted Koehler, 1932
Arranged by Dave Wolpe; Featuring: Joe Cadena, Trombone
9. Skylark Music: Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics: Johnny Mercer, 1941
Arranged by Jerry Nowak; Featuring: Tony Cataldo, trumpet; Ensemble
10. All of Me By Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons, 1931, Arranged by Lennie Niehaus
Featuring: Tony Cataldo, Trumpet; Roger Hogan, Tenor Sax
11. Blue Moon Music: Richard Rodgers; Lyrics: Lorenz Hart, 1934
Arranged by Dave Wolpe; Featuring: Bill Hecht, Piano
12. Route 66 Music and Lyrics: Bobby Troup, 1964, Arranged by Ms. Roberta Como
Featuring: Frank Falcioni, Guitar; Bill Hecht, Piano; Gavin Templeton, Alto Sax
13. Almost Like Being in Love Music: Frederick Loewe; Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner, 1947
Arranged by Lennie Niehaus; Featuring: Joe Cadena, Trombone; Ensemble
14. It Don't Mean A Thing By Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, 1931, Arranged by Jerry Nowak
Featuring: Jim Garaventa, Alto Sax; Doug Coomler, Tenor Sax

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*** CAMI THOMPSON'S BIOGRAPHY - THE "SHORT" VERSION - HA! ***
www.CamiThompson.com

Cami Thompson, a native of Reno and 6th generation Nevadan, has gained a world-wide reputation for wowing audiences with her 4-octave voice of great beauty, control and passion, her zany wit and her humorous interaction with her listeners. Combining elements from her training and background in jazz, pop, rock, R&B, musical theater, and classical music, she moves through whispering to belting out the songs of Gershwin, Ellington, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Rogers & Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, and others with robust honesty and exciting vibrancy. Her style has been called "a delightful mix of Ella Fitzgerald and Bette Midler", and she is often compared to Cleo Laine, Barbra Streisand, Barbara Cook, and Sarah Vaughan. But Cami is an original, gathering fans with her unique charm and talent throughout her 35 years of performing in the US, Europe, and Asia -- in nightclubs, cabarets, cruises, concerts, festivals, and theaters.

Cami began her music education with piano lessons at age 5, and never looked back! She played piano, vibes, marimba, other mallet instruments, and some percussion throughout middle school, high school, and college. But since singing was her first language (before she could even talk), that was where she ended up focusing most of her efforts. Cami began singing in church at age 7, jazz vocal training started at 13, classical training at 17, operatic development at 20 -- alongside classes in theory, composition and arranging, musical theater studies, and working professionally since the age of 17, singing and playing keyboards in pop, rock, funk, soul and R&B bands and soloing with a jazz trio. She soon started working in bands and productions shows, and gave up her plans to be a rocket scientist.

Cami has appeared as Opening Act for the Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Lou Rawls, Bob Newhart, Art Blakey, Jon Hendricks, Eddie Jefferson, Ernestine Anderson, and others. She has performed in lead theatrical roles in over 20 musicals in Nevada, California and Washington DC, including âMameâ (Auntie Mame and Agnes Gooch), âAnnie Get Your Gunâ (Annie Oakley), âSweeney Toddâ (Mrs. Lovett), âJC Superstarâ (Mary Magdalene), âCandideâ (Old Lady), âAnnieâ (Miss Hannigan), âBest Little Whorehouse in Texasâ (Miss Mona), âFolliesâ (Sally), âShowboatâ (Ellie May) and âGirl Crazyâ (Kate). She performs with her own bands, from solo piano accompaniment to her jazz trio to her 7-piece swing band "Cami & The Cosmopolitans" to big band -- throughout the Reno-Tahoe area, Bay Area and West Coast. Join her mailing list and you can find her at jazz clubs, concerts, plays, corporate events, charity fundraisers and private parties. She teaches voice privately in her San Francisco studio and her hometown Reno NV.

Cami toured the traditional jazz festival circuit with trumpeter Mike Vaxâs band for about 10 years, and occasionally performs with his big band, including singing on 2 of their CDs. While singing jazz professionally for 2 years in Europe, Cami sang at the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and the Juan Les Pins Festival du Jazz in France. She returns occasionally to Holland to perform with local bands.

Cami has 5 self-produced albums, has had her music played on National TV shows and radio around the world, has her own songs in a few movies, and has won dozens of awards for her vocal and entertainment skills.

Critics have called Cami's talents "dazzling" and "electric," with "a voice that stands out like diamonds from glitter," while "captivating audiences with a highly charged magnetism." Rollan Melton, former Editor-In-Chief of the Reno Gazette-Journal, wrote that Cami is "among the world's great entertainers". Myrna Daniels of L.A. Jazz Scene says she "projects plenty of personality" with a voice that can be "dramatic, brassy, sassy and lovely." Friend and co-star Toni Tenille says: "Cami probably has more talent than any performer I know. Her voice does things I can only dream of doing. She has incredible stage charisma and timing, and she's got THAT VOICE!" After co-starring with Miss Thompson in "Annie Get Your Gun," veteran Broadway musical actor John Raitt simply said, "Cami is stunning!" The late music critic Jack Neal wrote about Cami: âShe's self-effacing in a fun-loving way, with a voice that caresses, scats, soars, and gets way under the skin of every tune she sings.... There's no denying the sincerity of Thompson's matchless articulation and the depth of her seamless shifts of mood in all she sings. Cami Thompson is a first-rate actress with what it takes to touch the soul of a song."

Have a listen to Cami with the Reno Jazz Orchestra, and find out if you agree!

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*** RENO JAZZ ORCHESTRA *** www.RenoJazzOrchestra.org

The Reno Jazz Orchestra is a not-for-profit 17-piece big band organization comprised of passionate professional musicians, many who are also music teachers and instructors, dedicated to the performance and preservation of Big Band Music. RJO offers education to young musicians in Northern Nevada. Every year RJO sends musicians to schools throughout Northern Nevada to expose young musicians to Jazz! They perform for the students and ask them to sit in with the band so they experience the excitement of improvising with professional musicians!


Band Personnel for Recorded Concert on February 6, 2006

Rhythm Section:
Bill Hecht, piano
Frank Falcioni, guitar
Greg McClean, bass
Andy Heglund, drums

Trombones:
Joe Cadena
Dean Carter
Rich Lewis
Chuck Reid

Trumpets:
Mark Curry
John Beckman
Tony Cataldo
Terry Burns

Saxaphones:
Jim Garaventa-Alto Sax
Gavin Templeton- Alto Sax
Doug Coomler-Tenor Sax
Roger Hogan-Tenor Sax
Aaron Wolf â Baritone Sax

Additional percussion: Guy Kowarsh


RJO BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Chuck Reider: Musical Director
Andrew Heglund: President
Secretary: Linda Newberg
Treasurer: Dent Hand
Grant Writer: Paul Roth

Bernie Bronov
Vern Scaraborough