Canadian-born, Seattle-based jazz vocalist Heather Ward has released her first solo album, ‘Honeysweet’, showcasing a rich blend of original tracks and fresh jazz arrangements. Produced collaboratively by Heather and Dave Houghton, and recorded under the expert mixing of Ben Lange at Lange Recording Studios, Heather Ward’s new release features a collection of Seattle’s finest musicians. The album comprises a thoughtful mix of jazz standards, an original title track, and innovative jazz interpretations of songs from other favorite genres. Critics have lauded Heather’s “smokey, sultry alto” and her “tremendous vocal performance,” with the album described as swinging hard and captivating listeners with its “accomplished musicianship” and “ease and grace”. Her past mentorship with Hugh Fraser, and his work with Kenny Wheeler, led her to enjoy using the voice not just to tell stories but also purely as an instrumental colour. She loves translating music from varied genres into jazz, as evidenced on ‘Honeysweet’.