This is a classy mainstream jazz album - a well-selected set of both vocal and instrumental tracks, beautifully recorded, with excellent musicians who clearly enjoyed playing together on this critically acclaimed CD.

8 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Jazz Vocals, JAZZ: Traditional Jazz Combo



Details:
âIt should be noted that Patti has the rare ability to excelas a singer and as an instrumentalist, which talents place her in a very select category.â - Mort Fega


A seasoned veteran, Patti Wicksâ superior musicianship, impeccable taste and warm personality have earned her -both nationally and internationally - the respect of her fellow jazz musicians, the unqualified praise of jazz critics, and the admiration of a constantly expanding audience of devoted fans.

She is a pianist with a distinctive personal style and a singer with an instantly recognizable voice and the ability to connect with her audience; a storyteller who delivers a lyric with conviction.

âWith a voice that is sure, and a soul that understands and communicates the poetry she sings, she further proceeds to astound us with her keyboard artistry!â is what the incomparable composer/pianist/singer Bob Dorough has to say about Patti Wicks.

A child prodigy who overcame visual impairment and grew into one of the most distinctive performers of her generation, she brings warmth, charm and a great repertoire of songs to her live performances and recordings.

âYou can judge an artist by the audience she gains and the response that she engenders. Well, on her opening night at the Lobby court in the Westin-LAX hotel, a quick look at the audience showed composers Lew Spence (âNice ânâ Easyâ), Jack Segal (âWhen Sunny Gets Blueâ), fellow singers Rebecca Parris, Pinky Winters, Betty Bryant just to cite a few happy patrons.â - L.A. JazzScene

At the age of three, this little Long Island native astounded her parents by going to the piano and playing note-for-note the song her mother had just finished playing. Patti began studying classical piano with a young and innovative teacher who encouraged her natural ability to play by ear, compose and improvise by also teaching her basic music theory. Patti also grew up listening a variety of music on the radio and recordings, songs which she learned by playing along with the records-including Broadway show soundtracks. all while continuing her classical education through high school.
It was as a college student at Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam, that she was first introduced to jazz. âI fell immediately and madly in love with this music,â says Patti. âAfter that, there was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to be a jazz musician. This incredible music just reached out, grabbed me and never let go!â

During her four years at Crane, she immersed herself in the recordings of all the jazz giants, being especially drawn to the music of Miles Davis and Bill Evans. From a roommateâs record collection of Sinatra and Nat King Cole, she started building her vocal repertoire of Great American Songbook composers. She honed her skills playing at jam sessions and was playing regular weekend gigs during her junior and senior years until graduating with a degree in music education.

By late 1969, Patti had moved to Manhattan and began pursuing her career as a professional jazz musician. It was only a few years later that she began playing gigs
in top jazz clubs, including Bradleyâs, Gregoryâs, Gulliverâs and the Half Note; concerts such as Jack Kleinsingerâs Highlights In Jazz , Les Leiberâs Jazz At Noon, and college concerts at Penn State, Queens College, Albany Law School and C.W. Post. Her duos featured bassists Sam Jones, Richard Davis and Brian Torff; her trios included drummers Louis Hayes, Mickey Roker, Alan Dawson and Curtis Boyd.

By 1975 Patti had attracted the attention of NY jazz critics, including John S. Wilson of the New York Times, who wrote: â Miss Wicks shows curiosity and selectivity in her material. Her music is full-bodied, vigorously rhythmic and has a strong feel for structure, dynamics and melodic sense.â

With her ability to deliver a lyric with depth and conviction Patti also became a favorite at many of New Yorkâs sophisticated Upper East Side rooms such as The Apartment, Martyâs, Jimmy Westonâs.
From 1977 to 1997 Patti continued performing in clubs and concerts in Florida, New York, and Maine as well as working with such jazz luminaries as Clark Terry, Cecil Payne, Larry Coryell, Buddy DeFranco, Flip Phillips, Ira Sullivan, and Pete Minger to name a few. A skilled accompanist, she has backed jazz vocalists Rebecca Parris, Roseanna Vitro, Giacomo Gates, Anita OâDay, and Sheila Jordan.
Pattiâs trio has been the opening act for comedians George Carlin and Bob Newhart.
In 1997, Patti Wicks moved to Lake Worth, Florida where she currently resides. That was also the year her debut CD, âRoom At The Top: The Patti Wicks Trioâ, (co-produced with bassist Don Payne), with John Yarling on drums was released on Payneâs label, Recycled Notes. The CD garnered rave reviews.

ââ¦Room At The Top, Wicksâ debut CD featuring bassist Don Payne and drummer John Yarling, establishes her as a world-class singer-pianist in the tradition of Nat Cole, Blossom Dearie, and Shirley Horn.â
-- Joel E. Siegel, NPR âJazz Riffsâ CD review

ââ¦â¦an uncommonly gifted jazz pianistâ¦â¦Listening to Wicks sing - which she does on seven of the 13 tracks - Iâm reminded of the late Carmen McRae â¦..(but Wicks is no clone--she has her own arresting bag of tricks.) â¦..[Wicks] deserves far wider recognition and applauseâ¦â
-- Jack Bowers, All About Jazz

âIn the tradition of Jeri Southern, Blossom Dearie, Nina Simone, and Shirley Horn, Patti Wicks is equally adept at both piano and vocalsâ¦..Each listener seems to get individual attention. It is like having her and her trio live in the same room with you. This is an impressive first album.â
-- David Nathan, All Music Guide

Since her first CD release, Patti recorded the Wyndham International Hotel and Resorts jingle âThey Canât Take That Away From Meâ which was featured on prime time major television and radio stations from 2000-20002.

In July, 2003, Pattiâs second all-balled CD, âLove Locked Out" was released on MAXJAZZ. Produced by Joel E. Siegel, with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Joe LaBarbera also received rave reviews.

"Love Locked Out" deserves a place on the CD shelf right alongside Shirley Hornâs finest recordings. Itâs that good.â -- Mike Joyce, Washington Post

âThis is the CD to play while you're contemplating a lost love, just after you've opened that bottle of Campari, but before you're too deeply into itâ¦â¦ Wicks' performances are like that book you can't put down, while the unattended bathtub is overflowing or the neglected oven burns the roast to a crisp.â
-- Alan Bargebuhr, Cadence Magazine

"Patti Wicks is an exquisite singer-pianist whose MAXJAZZ release "Love Locked Out" is one of the finest ballad albums in recent times."
-- Scott Yanow

Since the release of âLove Locked Outâ, Patti has been a guest on Marian McPartlandâs award-winning NPR radio show âPiano Jazzâ. She has performed in major jazz clubs including The Jazz Standard (NY), Blues Alley (Washington D.C.) and jazz festivals across the US and abroad, among them The Cape May Jazz Festival, Syracuse Jazz In The Square, The Anguilla Tranquillity Jazz Festival in the British West Indies, and the Livorno and La Spezia Jazz Festivals in Italy.

In July, 2003 Patti Wicks performed her first tour of Italy, debuting at the Livorno Jazz Festival, with bassist Giovanni Sanguineti and drummer Giovanni Gullino. (The previous year bassist Sanguineti had purchased her first CD from her website and immediately contacted her to arrange a summer tour, including Livorno.)

âFor more than two hours, the divine Patti Wicks, in splendid voice and accompanying herself on piano, enchanted an audience of almost one thousand at âAnfiteatro Jazz de Livorno,â as fans sat in quasi religious silence throughout this long-awaited concert.â
--Live Concert Review, Livorno Jazz Festival

The response was so enthusiastic that Patti has been performing twice a year since then, in jazz clubs and concerts throughout Italy, including Florence, Saluzzo, Genoa, Bologna, Ferrara, Saluzzo, The Alexanderplatz (Rome), The Blue Note (Milan), Teatro Della Muse (Ancona) and La Spezia Jazz Festival.

Recorded at the end of her July, 2004 tour with bassist Giovanni Sanguineti and drummer Giovanni Gullino, âBasic Feelingâ featuring Patti Wicks and alto saxophonist Claudio Chiara was released in Italy in January, 2005.
Pattiâs third CD and her first recording with her Italian musicians has received critical acclaim from US, European and Japanese jazz publications.

âAlthough other pianist-singers⦠have impressed me with their music, Patti Wicks stands alone because of the extraordinary emotional depth she brings to her music. â¦..Her phrasing is behind the beat, and yet extremely fluid, and most effective in communicating a lyric. She has a killer sense of swing and a repertoire filled with illustrious standards as well as lesser-known lost gems which she manages to restore to their original luster. An extraordinary interpreter, Patti reminds us over and over again that she is above all a jazz musician, capable of both accompanying herself as well as taking instrumental solos that utilize a wide spectrum of dynamics and colorsâ¦.In this âItalianâ CD, one can hear all that is best in Patti Wicksâ artâ¦. âBasic Feelingâ also includes several instrumental tracks in which Pattiâs piano artistry is prominently on displayâ¦... a perfect setting to spotlight her Italian partners, allowing them to shine. Among these are the excellent [young alto player], Claudio Chiaraâ¦.Go out, then, and find yourselves a copy of âBasic Feeling,â as well as âLove Locked Out,â Patti Wicksâ splendid release for the MAXJAZZ label. Both deserve a special place in your music collection as well as your hearts. - M. Tarabelli, ANCONA JAZZ

âPatti Wicks is the artist responsible for the extraordinary âBasic Feelingâ, her âItalianâ album The record is a real gem that deserves a wide audience and should appeal to everyone, not just jazz connoisseurs.â
- IL CITTADINO


âCertain voices, when put into motion, immediately take command and let the listener know who is in chargeâ¦. Her piano is tasteful and tunefulâ¦.âLove Locked Outâ is an excellent introduction and âBasic Feelingâ a super follow up.â - C. Michael Bailey, AllAboutJazz


âThis is only the second CD I have heard by this exceptionally gifted American pianist and singer...this despite her having been on the jazz scene for more than three decades. During these years, Wicks has earned high critical praise, peer respect and a dedicated following.
From the first notes she strikes you know that you are listening to an excellent pianist. Her singing voice is mature and unforced, bringing subtlety and nuance to her interpretations of a song selection that avoids overdone materialâ¦it is very clear to understand why Wicks has attracted respect and attention.
Recorded during a trip Wicks made last year to Italy, âBasic Feelingâ teams her with three very talented young musicians. The bassist, Giovanni Sanguineti, and drummer Giovanni Gullino swing subtly and ably cushion the singer and the alto saxophonist, Claudio Chiara, [who] is inventive in his solos and backs his co-leader with an easy fluency.
Those of you who have Wicksâs previous CD, âLove Locked Outâ on MAXJAZZ will be sure to want this one. Newcomers to her skillful playing and singing will find this new and warmly recommended CD a very attractive introduction to an artist who deserves to be much better known internationally than has hitherto been the case.â
- Bruce Crowther, JazzJournal International