Since she burst on the jazz scene in 2013, the award-winning, Seattle-based vocalist, composer, producer, and legacy activist Eugenie Jones has been one of our time’s most evocative and evolving artists. NEA Jazz Master and bassist Reggie Workman described Jones as “an extraordinary singer, songwriter, and a source of light we’re fortunate to experience.” Thomas Staudter of The Gazette/New York lauded Jones for her “tremendous talent, tireless energy, and buoyant spirit,” and Mark Holston of JazzIz praised Jones for her “…keen sense of phrasing, [which] makes her extremely persuasive. Like a veteran horn soloist, she slides effortlessly from one octave to the next, always landing on the right, pitch-perfect note.”
Jones displayed all those attributes on her first four releases:
**Black Lace, Blue Tears** (2013), **Come Out Swinging**(2015), **Players** (2022), the soulful jazz derivative **Players 1.1** (2023), and **The Originals** (2024).
With the release of her new album and its exquisite string arrangements, **EUGENIE**Jones extends and elaborates on her jazz-honed, vivid, and vivacious vocals. Jones’ vocals, which legendary bandleader Joe Chambers has praised as “Excellent” and capable of encompassing multiple idioms, are a true testament to her musical prowess.
Unlike her prior Jazz Week #7 ranked release, **Players**, a two-disc album recorded in Dallas, New York, Chicago, and Seattle with thirty-two world-class jazz musicians, EUGENIE is a single-disc project casting a focused spotlight on the depth and breadth of Jones’ lyricism, her adaptive vocal style from sultry blues to hard-swinging classics, and her ability to create intensely passionate renderings of emotively gripping ballads.
EUGENIE features 13 selections, including unique “Eugenie-izing” interpretations of classics by Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown, Jr., Nina Simone, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, and Carole King. The release brings Jones’ total published songs to 32 and features six original compositions, further exemplifying Jones as an intelligent, thoughtful composer in the tradition of Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone, and Irene Higginbotham.
Produced by legendary bassist Lonnie Plaxico, Jones recorded EUGENIE in two cities: The New York sessions featured Plaxico on bass; pianists Brandon McCune and Mamiko Watanabe; Russell Carter on drums; Rico Jones on saxophone; trumpeter Gil Defay; Jessica Wang on cello; violinist Yoojin Park and percussionist Kahlil Bell.
The musicians on the Seattle date included pianist Darrius Willrich, saxophonist Alex Dugdale, bassist Elliot Kuykendall, drummer Ronnie Bishop, guitarist Michael Powers, pianist Peter Adams, Chris Symer on bass, and
Ernesto Pediangco on percussion.
Plaxico says of Jones, “It was an honor to produce and perform with Eugenie Jones on her recording. She is laser-focused, full of expression, energy, and passion, with an original and soulful voice. The selection of songs and Eugenie’s original music is an atmospheric experience.”
A professional musician since 14-years of age, Plaxico’s immense knowledge base combined with Jones’ skill holding the pen and mic make for a grand collaboration of sound and ideas. EUGENIE represents a new signpost, a timestamp by an artist continuing her ever-evolving artistry. “It’s important to me to know that I’m taking on new challenges, growing, being more today than I was yesterday. I’m thankful that the outcome of this project reflects that desire.”
C. Michael Bailey of Wild Mercury Rhythm and All About Jazz has reviewed Jones’s work over the past decade and says of Jones, “Her voice is warmly, humidly pliant with a deeply sensuous center that she uses expressively with greater validity and genuineness than most better-known singers. It is a mystery that Jones is not better known. Her vocal chops have few peers, and her writing is beautifully grown up and real.”
With Groov Marketing leading the radio campaign, EUGENIE releases on January 20, 2025.