Brenda Earle Stokes – piano and vocals Kodi Hutchinson – bass Karl Schwonik – drums
Brenda Earle Stokes is a rare jazz artist with a true command of both the piano and the voice. As a follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2014 studio album “Right about Now”, Stokes sought to challenge herself to dig deep and share the full scope of her talents in the most intimate setting possible. In her latest album “Solo Sessions Volume 1”, Brenda explores the rarely-recorded format of solo piano and voice, showcasing her mesmerizing fluidity as both singer and pianist. Recorded in a single four-hour session in her hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Brenda explores a wide spectrum of material, including jazz standards, original compositions and seldom-heard compositions by Dave Brubeck and Steve Swallow. She rounds out the recording with lush jazz arrangements of songs recorded by kd lang, Michael McDonald and Huey Lewis, showing the full range of her musical curiosities.
Brenda Earle Stokes is a surprisingly multi-faceted musician, known for her work as a pianist, singer and composer. She has performed as a side person with John Riley, Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm, Roxy Coss, Wycliffe Gordon, Maurice Hines and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra. She has held residences at the Kennedy Center and the Banff Centre for the Arts, was a finalist for the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition and was a winner of the IAJE Sister’s-in-Jazz competition, identifying her as one of the top emerging jazz artists of her generation. As a bandleader she has toured clubs and festivals across the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and has released six albums on her own label.
“Her touch on the ivories is rich and relaxed, with a voice filled with feeling and mixes vulnerable emotions with heat…” – Jazz Weekly
“Stokes is very much her own woman and stamps her individuality on both her singing and her piano playing.” – Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here