Singer and actor Sylvia Brooks is set to thrill listeners with the release of Dangerous Liaisons, her debut full-length CD featuring a collection of songs that stretches from the palm-lined causeway connecting Miami to Palm Island and its famed Latin Quarter, to New York City's Harlem and the legendary Cotton Club.
The road map of Sylvia's musical tastes began to come almost imperceptibly together growing up in Miami, hearing her mother sing at the Eden Roc and Fontainebleau, and listening as her musician father played the canon of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn in jazz clubs across the country. "I don't feel that I chose these songs, as much as they've chosen me," she says. And the rich collection on Dangerous Liaisons speaks directly to that point.
From the bold proclamation of "When The Sun Comes Out," to the brassy hot "Sway," from the haunting strains of "Harlem Nocturne," to the towering torch anthem "Cry Me A River," Sylvia captures the drama, the glamour and the quiet storm of emotion behind these classic tunes, while reinterpreting-and reinvigorating-them for a new audience.
"I want to bring the emotion and dynamics back to the listener, in a bigger-than-life way. I don't try to under sing, like many jazz artists today. I try to stay true to the passion of these songs. It's that kind of glamour and showmanship that I miss. And I believe there's a whole new generation that's hungry for this again," she says.
No stranger to the nightclub world she grew up in, Sylvia has performed to great acclaim at Culver City's famed JAZZ BAKERY, Hollywood's M BAR, and engagements at popular L.A. nightspot CATALINA BAR & GRILL, along the way making her a six-time Critics' Choice by the Los Angeles Times.
Dangerous Liaisons was produced and engineered by Ken Bullard and recorded at Entourage Recording Studios in North Hollywood, CA. The recording features Jeff Colella on piano, Chris Collangelo on bass, Kendall Kay on drums, Jamie Havorka on trumpet, Kim Richmond on saxophone and flute, Eric Budman, saxophone and flute, Giovanna Imbesi, keyboards and Brian Kilgore, percussion. The 10 song collection includes "Lush Life," "Sway," "Sophisticated Lady," and "One for My Baby." So give yourself over to the performer the Hollywood Reporter calls "First Rate!" on a journey to live freely....and love dangerously.