Praise Pouring in For Trumpeter/Vocalist Bria Skonberg's New Album

Buzz is bubbling all over for trumpeter/vocalist Bria Skonberg's delightful new OKeh/Masterworks album With a Twist! Released May 19 to acclaim from mainstream music critics and jazz aficionados alike, With a Twist shakes and stirs a fresh batch of inventive reinterpretations and originals inspired by cocktail culture, Bria's time in New York City, and the twists and turns of falling in love. The album is "replete with the unexpected" says Black Book (6/1/17), "including captivating covers of Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' and Leonard Cohen's 'Dance Me to the End of Love.'" The New York Times praised, "Ms. Skonberg has a playful and warm-blooded take on cocktail jazz; her voice is sly and smoky, her horn playing strong and assured." (6/1/17), and The Chicago Tribune stated "Skonberg's rising career is breathing new life into traditional jazz." (5/19/17). WBGO spoke highly about album commenting, "It's a jazz vocal album with a gloss of pop sophistication, drawing not only from Pops but also Pérez Prado, among others. "Whatever Lola Wants" strikes a balance of smoky ambience and come-hither panache, with a succinct but effective 16-bar trumpet solo." (5/15/17).

Skonberg's inventive take on "Cocktails for Two," originally from Damn Yankees, was recently on Amazon as "one of the best jazz songs of 2017 so far" (July 2017); Jazz Times praised Skonberg's album arrangements as "lush, multi-textured, and dramatic," singling out her take on another Damn Yankees song "Whatever Lola Wants" as "ooz[ing] melt-in-your-mouth sensuality." (August 2017); and Jazz Weekly gushed, "Her horn still impresses on the swinging 'Time To Go' and icy cool 'Dance Me to the End of Love' where she taps into her inner Madeleine Peyroux." (5/22/17).

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