"Packing a polished and sassy approach to the American jazz songbook trumpet player and vocalist Anita Eccleston delivers some memorable jazz standards with skill and enthusiasm. Eccleston possesses a rich expressive voice that lends itself beautifully to her take on lounge classics such as These Foolish Things, What A Wonderful World, and one of my favourites, Fly Me To The Moon. Eccleston impressively coaxes full arrangements from her compact trio featuring Graham Clark on a swinging upright bass, Andrew Smith painting his glistening guitar flourishes all over the musical garden while Doug Gorkoff adds another dimension with cello
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"Packing a polished and sassy approach to the American jazz songbook trumpet player and vocalist Anita Eccleston delivers some memorable jazz standards with skill and enthusiasm. Eccleston possesses a rich expressive voice that lends itself beautifully to her take on lounge classics such as These Foolish Things, What A Wonderful World, and one of my favourites, Fly Me To The Moon. Eccleston impressively coaxes full arrangements from her compact trio featuring Graham Clark on a swinging upright bass, Andrew Smith painting his glistening guitar flourishes all over the musical garden while Doug Gorkoff adds another dimension with cello. The arrangements are bright and full of personality while allowing Eccleston’s sumptuous trumpet phrasings to float on top like frothy milk on a tall mug of dark java. Eccleston proves herself as a jazz chanteuse with a heartwarming voice combined with the personality, ear, and musical chops of an appealing band leader. More Trumpet is an album spilling over with reverence and tingling with nostalgic resonance." - April 25, 2017 More Trumpet CD Review (Dave O Rama, BC Musician Magazine) "This is a collection of traditional jazz standards that let her vocals shine and excellently showcases her lyrical trumpet playing. “More Trumpet” is an apt title for this album, as I think we get a little bit more of her heartfelt trumpet playing than on previous albums... this album does an excellent job of showcasing the great talent in her band:.. The addition of the cello on several tracks is unexpected, and also gloriously unique and a really nice added touch to the sound. Anita’s voice absolutely captivates throughout the album. She has a great joy and playfulness to her sound on the up-tempo tunes, fully delves into the emotional depths in the ballads, and throughout she has that signature sultry tone that I just can’t get enough of. The increase in trumpet playing is a very welcome aspect to this album as well. She has a wonderfully lyrical, expressive voice with her horn. This is a solid disk, with very enjoyable takes on timeless jazz standards. Great singing, great playing, and a really nice flow from one track to the next. If you like jazz, I think you will really enjoy this album." - December 15, 2016 "More Trumpet" Album Review (Ryan Noakes, Musetta Stone) ."Anita Eccleston's More Trumpet has plenty of voice...the album finds her working through classics from the jazz songbook." - December 13, 2016 More Trumpet showcases singer’s other instrument (Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun) "Eccleston’s sound is a soulful one that you will not want to miss." - October 12, 2016 Jazz Trumpeter makes her Okanagan debut at Vernon Jazz Club (Amanda Morazain, Vernon Morning Star) "While making music is the key," Anita said the classes “are more than just music lessons. They’re life lessons.” That helped her gain the confidence to perform, to face disappointment and to work hard to be skilled and reliable." - September 9, 2016 KSO 40th: Sisters started musical careers at symphony (Dale Bass, Kamloops This Week) Downloadable PDF "This year, she plays with the Plastic Acid Orchestra on Friday (Georgia Stage, Vancouver Art Gallery, 7:30 p.m.), and with the Anita Eccleston Trio on Wednesday, July 1 (Granville Island Stage, noon). It’s a jazz dream come true for the young musician and she credits the Vancouver and Montreal festivals with keeping her fired up through the years: 'Playing the festival it’s like moving up another level.'" - June 18, 2015 Jazz Fest's Legacy: Kindling Musical Dreams for Future Generations (Stuart Derdeyn, The Province) "This CD is somewhat of a hybrid between jazz and pop. This makes it accessible to a wider audience. Favorite tracks include “Through It All” which has a big band sound with interesting vocal changes, and the bluesy “Claim on You” which allows Eccleston to showcase her considerable talents on trumpet...So It Goes is a jazzy/poppy/soulful mix that should appeal to many. It would be a nice surprise in anyone’s Christmas stocking." - January 10, 2015 Earshot Best Local Releases 2014 (Jim Dupuis, CFBX, Kamloops) “Her writing showcases her wonderfully diverse and eclectic musical influences, expertly crossing over from jazz to into pop, rock, R&B, Motown, etc. For example, the album starts off with what initially appears to be a big band swing chart, but then clearly shows how she loves to interweave elements of different genres together into a great grooving tune… Anita’s sultry voice is absolutely captivating throughout this album. She doesn’t just convey the different emotions of the songs; she makes you experience them with her.” Ryan Noakes - Musetta Stone Magazine “Her style of jazz is traditional yet boundary pushing...it incorporates elements of blues, reggae and disco.” Jason Hewlett - Kamloops Daily News “This Jazz EP is essentially an album of classic jazz standards, where Eccleston showcases a captivating voice that can tug on your heart strings. She shows exquisite phrasing on a number of tracks and she doesn’t just play it safe.” Jim Dupuis, Jazz Notes with Jim, CFBX Radio - !Earshot Online “As guest artist, Anita contributes two of her own jazz- standard arrangements to the program. “They’re works I’ve created, for large and small orchestras,” she explained. “It was really an awesome opportunity to work on arranging.” … Her musical career reflects the eclecticism of her interests, including two recordings in the works, an EP of jazz standards and an LP of originals to be called Clearly Indefinable. “We’re doing most of the recording in Kamloops and a couple of sessions in Vancouver .” The Jazz EP includes tracks put down in Montreal and Kamloops. With so many different projects on the go — arranging, teaching, recording and performing — how does she have time for special projects such as this? “It’s a Catch-22, but as an artist you have to persevere and enjoy the process.” Many young artists head for the bright lights of metropolis where greatest opportunity resides. “I dream of it. It’s tough. It’s a long road, but totally worth it."” Mike Youds - Kamloops Daily News
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