Kristine Mills Announces Album Release & Shows In Austin, Houston And NYC

Houston-based, award-winning, singer/songwriter Kristine Mills has announced the upcoming release shows for her brand new album "Looking Back. Moving Forward." set to drop Friday, Nov. 12. "Looking Back. Moving Forward." is a reflection on Kristine's several-decades' long career and will be celebrated with three official release shows. The first is taking place in Austin, Texas at Parker Jazz Club (117 W. Fourth St. #107b, Austin, Texas 78701) on Thursday, Nov. 4 where she'll perform with the critically-acclaimed house band, led by Kris Kimura. The second will take place on Friday, Nov. 12, in Houston at Warehouse 72 (7620 Katy Fwy, Suite 305, Houston, Texas 77024). The third will take place on Thursday, Nov. 18 at the Triad Theatre (158 W. 72nd St., New York, NY 10023) in New York City featuring GRAMMY-nominated pianist and composer Jeff Franzel, guitarist/producer Askold Buk and drummer Steve Williams who all appear on the new album. Kristine also just announced that she will be moving to London in November following her album release, where she hopes to propel her career even further to the international stage.

For more information on Kristine Mills, see here.

"I am thrilled with this move to London," said Kristine Mills. "I will be spending my time split between London and Houston with US shows planned for the Spring. When I get to the UK, I look forward to performing and collaborating with a new coterie of jazz and world music musicians for fresh perspective and inspiration."
Mills is known in Houston as being a constant and persisting voice in the jazz scene. With this new album project, she is gearing up for a key moment in her three decade long career. She premiered the single "Hold Fast" with Houston CityBook on June 29 (see here for the premiere) and celebrated the premiere with a sold out show at Warehouse 72 on July 1. "Hold Fast" and her earlier single "Dip my Toe in Water" from the new album are now available to stream via Spotify, Apple Music and all streaming platforms.

"Both songs hold true to the infectiously jazzy sound that has propelled Mills into headliner gigs at events like the Brazilian International Jazz Festival and allowed her to play sold-out shows in theaters and performing arts centers around the world - from Houston to Sao Paolo," said Houston CityBook.

Additionally, Kristine is thrilled to announce that she has signed a distribution deal with Symphonic, a global digital distribution music services company. They will deliver her new releases and existing catalogue to music providers worldwide.
"This album is the retrospective of my songwriting career," expressed Kristine Mills. "It encompasses songs written at different times in my life, but they share universal truths about love, life, and death that we all can relate to. Many of the songs are collaborations with other artists which then pull from their experiences to enrich the writing and feelings found in the songs." This album is different for Kristine, as she is pulling from old works that were never released, remixing some of her more popular tunes and collaborating with younger artists and artists who perform in other genres. Raul da Gama with World Music Reports says, "Kristine Mills' talent for songwriting goes well beyond that realm. She is a fine writer of The Song, an even better writer of The Ballad and best of all she writes a compelling narrative. In short, Mills may be considered a complete musician."

Songs on "Looking Back. Moving Forward." will be released in pairs from various "sessions" recorded in 2008 to the present. The first set of songs, "The HOUSTON Sessions," were co-produced by Gabriel Santiago, recorded in Houston and mixed and mastered in Brazil. Kristine's first two singles are a contrast in love - "Hold Fast" was written in honor of her new husband, where "Dip My Toe In The Water" was written amidst the ending of a long marriage.
Additional "sessions" recorded in New York and Austin are slated to be released in the coming months and will included many well-known musicians such as GRAMMY-nominated American songwriter Jeff Franzel, prolific writer and producer Askold Buk, Sade's touring drummer, Steve Williams, Dave Byrne's tour bassist Paul Frasier, cellist Dave Eggar and more soon-to-be-named artists.

"Looking Back. Moving Forward." current album tracklist:

Gabriel Sessions:

1. Hold Fast

2. Dip my Toe in Water

New York Sessions:

3. Blue isn't Blue Anymore

4. Go Fly Away
Rice Sessions:

5. Infinite Love

6. Reach out to Me
Remix Sessions:

7. Burden of Choice (bossanovafied version) remix with StarxMalik

8. Tbd 9. Tbd

ABOUT KRISTINE MILLS:
Critically acclaimed, award-winning vocalist and songwriter Kristine Mills is the complete package. One of Houston's own, Kristine was named Houston Press Music Awards "Best Female Vocalist," "Best Songwriter" and was named in the Houston's 100 Most Distinguished Artist in the prestigious Rocks-Off list. For decades, Mills has been among Houston's first-call performers for corporate events, private events, charity events and galas including her long-time support for Dress for Success. This year will be her 10th annual performance for the organization.

Kristine's career as a songwriter produced several CDs, four include her original compositions. Specific cds include "BOSSAtoo," "asYETuntitled" the Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Grant Funded project, the Gold REMI award-winning film "Collector's Waltz Soundtrack," which she also produced, plus "bossanovafied," her first cd of her all original tunes adapted to the classic style of bossa nova. Each record received Grammy recognition by shortlisting in several categories, plus received international and national radio play, along with broadcasts on the onboard music programs of most major worldwide airlines including British Airways and United.

In addition to many appearances in esteemed clubs in New York, Kristine has played sold-out shows in theaters and performing arts centers as guest vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra as headliner for the Brazilian International Jazz Festival in Sao Paolo, Recife, Rio, and Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She also performed at the Miami Music Festival, Festival Carnival Latino, Snug Harbor in New Orleans, Cezanne's and The House of Blues in Houston, Artist-in-Residence at Hotel ZaZa Houston, and most recently as Music Director and featured performer at Giorgio's Hotel Granduca Houston. To learn more about Kristine, please visit here.

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