Who: Kellylee Evans
What: global-influenced jazz
Where: Ottawa, ON
To Contact: KAE MEDIA, PO Box 75, Ottawa, ON K0A 1B0 (613) 253-2017, FAX (613) 253-6398, kellyleeevans@yahoo.com.

Since recording this CD, Fight Or Flight?, Kellylee Evans won second place at the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. The contest, open to singers under the age of 30, received 167 applications globally. The Toronto-born, Ottawa-based vocalist performed three standards at the semi-finals before a panel of judges at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. She achieved the highest position for a Canadian vocalist in the competition’s 17-year history. On her CD, however, Evans wrote all 10 original songs from the rhythmic opener “I Don’t Want You To Love Me” and whimsical “Who Knows?” to the island-vibed “Let’s Call A Truce Tonight”. All 12 songs, including covers of “Round’ Midnight” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, were produced in New York by bassist Lonnie Plaxico (Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis). Laid down in just two days, her backing band included pianist George Colligan (Cassandra Wilson, Ravi Coltrane), guitarist Marvin Sewell (Cassandra Wilson, George Benson), drummer Steve Hass (Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel), and percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell (Erykah Badu, Roberta Flack).

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