(February 10, 2017) Longtime SoulTrackers know that singer and songwriter Sy Smith is one of our faves. We just heard from Sy about a new event that she'll be part of, so we wanted to share with you.
NSO Pops: Sophisticated Ladies: 100 Years of Ella & Company
Friday, March 24, 2017 - Saturday, March 25, 2017
In the 100th year of Ella Fitzgerald's birth, Sy, Capathia Jenkins, and Montego Glover will come together to celebrate her legendary music. Along with favorites made famous by the First Lady of Song--including "Summertime," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," and more--this program also looks back on the unforgettable contributions of her artistic contemporaries, including American classics by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington.
(February 10, 2017) Longtime SoulTrackers know that singer and songwriter Sy Smith is one of our faves. We just heard from Sy about a new event that she'll be part of, so we wanted to share with you.
NSO Pops: Sophisticated Ladies: 100 Years of Ella & Company
Friday, March 24, 2017 - Saturday, March 25, 2017
In the 100th year of Ella Fitzgerald's birth, Sy, Capathia Jenkins, and Montego Glover will come together to celebrate her legendary music. Along with favorites made famous by the First Lady of Song--including "Summertime," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," and more--this program also looks back on the unforgettable contributions of her artistic contemporaries, including American classics by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Dinah Washington.
See more at https://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/NRPSE
ABOUT SY SMITH
D.C. native and Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard University, Sy Smith has long since solidified her place in underground soul music. The singer/songwriter/ producer helped cultivate the nu-soul scene more than ten years ago, a scene that now easily boasts some of the most progressive artists of that genre to date, some of who came directly from Sy’s own band line-ups (Sy’s 2009 live DVD “Worship at the Temple” features then unknowns Thundercat on bass and Kamasi Washington on sax).
Sy Smith has released four albums on her own recording label, Psyko! Inc. In addition, Smith has composed and written songs for many recording artists, including Carlos Santana, Brand New Heavies, Macy Gray and Mýa.
Many fans are aware of Sy’s previous work providing supporting vocals for the likes of Meshell Ndegeocello, Usher, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Sheila E., DJ Quik, and most notably The Rickey Minor Band (as seen on American Idol for six seasons and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). And yet her work remains relevant in underground circles as Sy continues to gain new fans in the trenches of that scene touring with acts like The Foreign Exchange, Zo! and Orgone. Most recently, Sy Smith has resumed her role as a featured guest touring with platinum-selling jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (she gained an entire new lot of fans when she appeared on his Grammy-nominated DVD/PBS Special “Live in Boston”). She continues to tour with Botti, including performing at his annual holiday residency at the famed Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, where he holds the record for consecutive sold out shows.
Sy’s flair for dramatic gowns and her high-energy stage presence have garnered her a cult-like international following from Tokyo to Tbilisi, but she manages to maintain a similar intimacy during her performances whether she’s at Carnegie Hall or Blues Alley. Huffington Post writer Sean Martinfield says, “Sy Smith is one of the most versatile and compelling vocal artists anywhere around. She drives through fast lanes of contemporary music and then hovers with ease over a vintage standard. With her multi-octave vocal range, Sy can stretch an improvisation to the starry heights.”
Here's a recent performance from Sy: