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Jacqui Naylor Returns To The Plush Room With A Billboard Charted CD, William Morris Agency, Artist Management And A Whole Lot More
“Jacqui’s ‘acoustic smashing’ of the great American songbook with the classic rock and roll songbook brings both forms to life in a way never heard before, bringing the audience to its feet in thunderous appreciation. There is true genius at work here.” —Ken Dashow Q-104 New York Jacqui Naylor’s new release Live East/West-Birdland/Yoshi’s debuted on the Billboard Jazz Charts at number 28 in its first week. The artist has also recently signed with the famed William Morris Agency and secured artist management with Mike Regan, former Marketing V.P. of MCA. With her own Ruby Star Records in its third year with Ryko Distribution, Jacqui is being called “the Ani DiFranco of Jazz” by industry leaders. She returns to the Plush Room for a four-day run this April 27-30, her last San Francisco appearance until she returns in the fall to play the San Francisco Jazz Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Named by Vogue as the “new voice of jazz and pop” and by JazzTimes as “the next big thing,” Jacqui Naylor is the newest nationally recognized jazz artist who can trace her roots back to San Francisco and in particular to the Plush Room. “The Plush Room really gave me my first break in 1999 when they brought me into the room for a two-week run and out of the club and restaurant scene I had been playing for several years. It was the beginning of a national and international career for me, so it is always and honor to play there,” says Jacqui. This artist likes to pay tribute to her roots in the Bay Area and recorded a CD at the Plush Room in 2001 and half of her new 2005 CD at Oakland’s Yoshi’s. She played to a near sold-out Yoshi’s crowd just last month, celebrating the national release of Live East/West-Birdland/Yoshi’s, selling over 200 copies of the double CD in just one day. A singer-songwriter with jazz roots, Jacqui Naylor has created an impressive body of work on the twenty-four tracks recorded live between these two CDs. Each contains six never-recorded originals, two jazz standards and four rock covers. Many of the covers feature a new genre the artist calls “acoustic smashing” where she sings an entire rock tune over an entire jazz standard or vice versa. The result is an innovative blend of pop, rock, blues and jazz. “Her style not only knits two separate songs together, but also removes the manmade barrier of genre to blend pop and jazz music in a way that is completely new,” writes the Monterey County Herald.
“It has been an amazing couple of years since the release of my last CD, Shelter, and I feel that I have really grown as a songwriter and a performer. The changes in me and in my music have happened organically and I think that sense of spontaneity is captured on the new live recordings. Live East/West-Birdland/Yoshi’s is an audible snapshot of my travels and the awesome musicians I was able to work with. ‘Acoustic Smashing’ opens up a whole new way to experience our individual musical histories as a collective experience between the band members and the audience members to create something totally different,” explains Naylor.
On East, recorded at the famed Birdland, the artist has at hand her co-writer, Art Khu, playing piano, guitar and organ. On upright bass is Ugonna Okegwo and on drums Danny Gottlieb, who is well known for his work with Pat Metheny. Add the percussion of Josh Jones on Cajon and the result is a very earthy, folk-infused jazz sound. On West, Naylor is joined again by Khu and with Jon Evans on bass, well known for his work with Tori Amos; Jason Lewis on drums, and Bob Johnson on saxophone. This quartet was with Naylor on Shelter, and they are heard here on the live Yoshi’s tracks along with a bit of cello and Cajon. On West, the sound is grounded, funky, driven and raw.
At the Plush Room, April 27-30, Khu, Evans and Jones will unite behind Naylor for what is sure to be an unforgettable run of live music. Shows are at 8 p.m., tickets are $25 and may be purchased at 415.885.2800. The Plush Room is located at 940 Sutter inside the York Hotel, between Leavenworth and Hyde in San Francisco.
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