ADELE NICOLS: Never Let Me Go

Adele Nicols

Never Let Me Go

© 2004 Adele Nicols (783707946924)

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This unassuming vocalist sings from the Great American Songbook with compelling authenticity. Adele delivers romantic but straight ahead renditions of classic jazz standards. A brilliant new vocalist with impeccable style and grace.

notes

"Never Let Me Go" includes an exceptional lineup of musicians including but not limited to: bassist Scott Steed from Portland, Oregon, Sacramento guitarist Steve Homan, Pianist Al Plank from San Francico and Vermont's own Bruce Sklar. Live tunes and studio sessions. Improvisation at it's best.

KVMR Radio
Adele is brilliant...about as good as any living female jazz singer and better than most...an inspired singer with a seasoned style of her own.
--Len Gorsky

Berklee College of Music
"Nicols is a mega talent with an outrageous sensitivity to sound. Her enormous musical aptitude allows her to hear even the subtlest of nuances."--Craig Najjar, Former Faculty

"Nicols' passionate and fresh style awakens the listener to emotions of astonishing range."
--Hudson Young, recording artist/producer

Discover Jazz Festival
Adele Nicols is quickly being recognized as a fresh and innovative voice on the jazz scene. The passion she reveals intense and very real. This is an artist you'll definitely be hearing more about.
--Jimmy Swift, Discover Jazz Festival

"Never Let Me Go" is nothing if not compelling, with some of the greatest composers in jazz, including Clifford Brown, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Johnny Mercer and Jerome Kern.
Like the artist herself, this debut CD is full of sensuality and surprise. Nicols has produced a first class album for a brand new Vermont Label, Polkadot Records. Three classic tunes are recorded live with a sextet and the other seven standards convey the intimacy of a trio and duo. Although "Never Let Me Go" is a soothing remedy for what ails you, don't be fooled. It's not cocktail hour. This girl can truly swing.

Nicols began training as a classical pianist at the age of seven and continued for five years. Then she stopped studying until at nineteen, during her junior year of college in Florence, Italy, she was lucky enough to have been mentored by master pianist and teacher, Vanda Scaravelli.

Two years later she moved to Tokyo, immersing herself into the art, music and traditional culture of Japan's rich heritage. There she began sitting in with jazz musicians as a vocalist at the "Shinjiku-Inn" and the "Pitt Inn".

Inspired and ready to work, she returned to America and settled in New Orleans. Here, Adele began studying with then Columbia Recording Artist, Ellis Marsalis, and soon got her first regular piano gig at the French Quarter's famous Fairmont Hotel.

In New Orleans she married and gave birth to two children. Her passion as a mother fueled her passion for singing (gotta calm those babies somehow!) and Nicols shifted her focus from playing piano to singing jazz standards. Although she would later return to the piano, she was quite successful as a jazz vocalist and her fan base acquired a life of its own.

Nicols' travel bug took her on the road again, this time to northern California. There she received private coaching from legendary vocalist, Mark Murphy, traveling 3 hours each way to study in his San Francisco home.

Giving birth to two more children Adele remained devoted to both motherhood and music. Though her marriage ended suddenly, the silver lining was that she was able to provide for her four children by gigging at night, and be a stay at home mom during the day. It was then that she studied jazz piano with Craig Najjar, formerly of Berklee College of Music, in an intensive two week 60 hour program designed just for Adele.

Three years later, Nicols moved her family across country one more time and settled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. She has just released her debut album, "Never Let Me Go." In Vermont she performs in festivals as well as select venues throughout New England.

Adele Nicols is a juried artist endorsed by the Vermont Arts Council. Her album is currently available for online purchase, including AdeleNicols.com, CDBaby.com, Tower.com, Amazon.com and Borders.com.

reviews

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  • never let me stop listening
    author: Diane Pankow

    I got this album over a year ago and liked it so much I purchased more to give out at a family reunion. Everyone, of all ages loves this recording. Would love more from this artist.

  • Mellow
    author: Karen Adams

    This album is in my "mellow" play list. Adele's voice is soothing. The jazz is orderly; the words clear and speaking to my soul.

  • Adele's silky smooth vocals soothe the soul
    author: Scott Carlin

    This is trully an elegant and top-notch jazz CD, deserving to be ranked among the greats. Every once in a while I stumble upon unexpected treats, and this is it! Adele's celestial voice leaves an indelible impression, and her songs have a way of running through my mind long after listening. My top pick for the year, this CD rarely leaves my CD player.

  • musical integrity
    author: Craig Treinen, Jazz Improv

    Nicols' voice is captive yet elegant, swinging effortlessly throughout...Clifford Brown's composition, "Joy Spring", which can be very difficult for most experienced musicians, exhibits Nicols' uncanny ability to execute this song flawlessly. Her remarkable control of pitch while undeviating through endless modulations shadows that of the late great Ella Fitzgerald...The debut CD of Adele Nicols "Never Let Me Go" is a collaboration of great American jazz standards that provides a sense of musical integrity. It is evident throughout this entire CD she has surrounded herself with some of the finest musicians from all over the United States. I am looking forward to hearing the next one!

  • author: Dianne Casley

    I have found a new vocalist which I enjoy totally.This cd is fantastic.Can hear the Ella come out in her voice,kind of reminds me of Diana Krall as well.Keep up the awesome work Adele.What a beautiful voice!!

  • I'm picky with jazz but this is a
    author: Vermont Music Shop

    I'm picky with jazz but this is a really fantastic recording. Grace, class, and just a little bit of something that is lost on a lot of today's recordings. --Chris Pagliei

  • Elegant, stylish, filled with charm...
    author: Lee Prosser, JazzReview.com

    Elegant, stylish, filled with charm...this best describes the lovely voice of Adele Nicols performing on NEVER LET ME GO. There is a straight-forward feel to her vocals that is enjoyable and satisfying to the ear. Two fine examples are her vocal renditions of the Cole Porter songs, "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and "All Of You." The ten songs on the CD are well worth your listening time.This lady can sing and entertain. Grab a copy and relax with some lovely performances!

  • diva shines in jazzy debut
    author: Times Argus

    While one gets the sense that the best of Adele Nicols may be yet to come, "Never Let Me Go" stands as a gorgeous introduction to a talented artist and an excellent collection that jazz fans will likely treasure for years to come. -- Tom Huntington

  • a beautiful tribute to the jazz genre...
    author: Valley Reporter

    Nicols is a jazz traditionalist in the best sense of the term, selecting tunes that spotlight some of the finest and most revered moments in the history of jazz. But, in true jazz fashion, she re-interprets many of the standards with a stripped-down and accessible ease that invites closer listen. She opens the CD with "Dearly Beloved", a nice invocation that sets an inviting tone for the collection as a whole, especially after she drops into a wonderful scat-like groove midway through the song. The upbeat and bouncy "Joy Spring" follows, highlighting Nicols vocal prowess and the talent of her back-up band, and she gets to the title song on track #3 contemplative and thoughtful. She throws in the wonderful "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and the pensive "A Foggy Day" to round out the CDs mood as a whole, plus some surprises that I wont spoil for you here. The best thing to do is grab a copy of this collection and listen! --Rob Williams

  • perfectly in tune
    author: Jazz Society of Oregon

    Just listen to her vocal take on Clifford Brown's "Joy Spring." Where many vocalists would somehow stray off key during the complex, bopping melody, Nicols takes it perfectly in tune while covering all the trills and turnarounds of the tune. The title track shows off the range of her voice, lilting into the high register with breathy focus.

  • as mellow and inviting as a cozy fire
    author: Seven Days Newspaper, Burlington, VT

    While a CD of standard jazz tunes isn't the most original material for a debut album, Vermont-based singer Adele Nicols has a skill for infusing well-worn classics with a sense of wonder. With breezy charm and jazzy presentation, her interpretations of familiar tunes such as “All of You” and “Dearly Beloved” transport listeners to a less complicated world where it’s still possible to swing one’s troubles away. Nicols' experience shows, and the warmth in her voice is as mellow and inviting as a cozy fire. The mood is reminiscent of Rick’s Place from Casablanca: Any second, in could walk the one you left behind in Paris, or Madrid, or Des Moines… or perhaps the one you haven’t met yet. The cheery “Joy Spring” could even help Vermonters through those subzero winter days we know so well. Never Let Me Go doesn't break any rules, but that's not the point. As Nicols declares in her shimmering voice, "I'm old-fashioned but I don't mind."

  • Knowing and sentimental
    author: I. Halperin

    Nicols' knowing and sentimental debut album deserves to be in the collection of all jazz lovers. Beautiful and timely, Nicols' entertaining array of standards keeps the listener happily involved throughout. Kudos to her amazing ensemble of musicians.

  • Adele is extraordinary in her interpretation of love songs,
    author: Dick and Isabella

    Never Let Me Go, reveals Adele's extraordinary abilities of interpretation, phrasing, and tempo. She has chosen songs which reveal her considerable vocal talents.

  • Just Beautiful music for my ears..........
    author: Jennifer Mosko

    Wonderful soothing and soul lifting music and lyrics, left me wanting more. What a perfect voice for these perfect songs.

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