Lavay Smith & her all-star 7-piece little big band pay tribute to the swingin’ Kansas City tradition, featuring the music of Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Williams, Helen Humes, Lester Young, Jay McShann, Walter Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Myra Taylor & Big Joe Turner!
Lavay Smith is internationally recognized as The Queen Of Classic Jazz & Blues in the authentic style of the 1940's and 1950's. Lavay's last album received a prestigious 4 & 1/2 Star review in Downbeat magazine. For quotes and reviews from critics like Bob Blumenthal, Don Heckman, Phil Elwood and Frank-John Hadley.
“Lavay is wonderful! She and her band are a breath of fresh air. It is so unlikely and so exciting that a band would appear on the scene today that plays classic jazz and blues so well and so convincingly.”
---Johnny Otis
“The San Francisco-based Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are a notable exception to the retro-swing norm. The saucy vocalist and her eight-piece crew actually know the difference between jump music and bland R&B in corny suits. They have been a working unit since 1989 and sound as tight as the legendary musicians they choose to emulate.”
---Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe
“A lush vocal style recalling both Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington.”
----Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
“Splendid vocals and exemplary material.”
---Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat
Lavay Smith & her all-star 7-piece little big band pay tribute to the swingin’ Kansas City tradition, featuring the music of Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing, Joe Williams, Helen Humes, Lester Young, Jay McShann, Walter Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Myra Taylor & Big Joe Turner!
Lavay Smith is internationally recognized as The Queen Of Classic Jazz & Blues in the authentic style of the 1940's and 1950's. Lavay's last album received a prestigious 4 & 1/2 Star review in Downbeat magazine. For quotes and reviews from critics like Bob Blumenthal, Don Heckman, Phil Elwood and Frank-John Hadley.
“Lavay is wonderful! She and her band are a breath of fresh air. It is so unlikely and so exciting that a band would appear on the scene today that plays classic jazz and blues so well and so convincingly.”
---Johnny Otis
“The San Francisco-based Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers are a notable exception to the retro-swing norm. The saucy vocalist and her eight-piece crew actually know the difference between jump music and bland R&B in corny suits. They have been a working unit since 1989 and sound as tight as the legendary musicians they choose to emulate.”
---Bob Blumenthal, Boston Globe
“A lush vocal style recalling both Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington.”
----Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
“Splendid vocals and exemplary material.”
---Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat
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