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April Hall
Hall graduated from Berklee College of Music, where she received the prestigious Louis Armstrong Performance Award. She has done projects for Atlantic Records under the direction of Arif Mardin, for the likes of Chaka Khan, Melissa Manchester and Bette Midler and has performed with artists such as Rosemary Clooney, Al Jarreau, Billy Joel, Helen Cornelius and Dinah Shore. Hall performs and records with New England’s finest musicians, including Tim Ray, Gray Sargent, Les Harris Jr., Tom Hall, Joe “Sonny” Barbato, Jerry Bergonzi, John Lockwood, Marty Ballou, Mark Poniatowski, Marshall Wood, Keala Kaumeheiwa, Jim Gwin, Kenny Hadley and New Orleans's Amadee Castenell. She served as Executive Producer for ImprovLive 365, a daily webseries dedicated to exploring spontaneous creativity and improvisation, and co-produced the Brandeis University Improv Festival, featuring Milford Graves.
Hall is an award winning songwriter and her music has been featured on Boston's "Women in Music" series, on "The Coffeehouse”, WGBH’s “Eric in the Evening” and the nationally syndicated "Jazz After Hours" with PRI's Jim Wilke. Hall’s jazz recordings have topped national and international jazz charts, and “Room for Two” was named one of the top 50 Jazz Albums of 2012 by Jazz Times Magazine. In addition to her ongoing performances, Hall also continues to work with students both privately and across the country, holding master classes and clinics in modern vocal and microphone techniques and on the subject of "Songwriting in a Free Society”. Hall also teaches Musicianship (ear training), Jazz and R&B Ensembles as well as Music Theory for Vocalist at Boston’s Berklee College of Music.
Awards
Louie Armstrong Performance Award, 1993 Berklee College of Music
Music American Songwriter Magazine, 2003,
Named one of the top 50 Jazz Albums of the Year. - JazzTimes Magazine 2012
Tags
April Hall: Fun Out of Life
by Jim Santella
The songs that April Hall has selected for Fun Out of Life contain an emotional pull that combines with memories from nearly a century of heart throbs and goose bumps. These songs send a chill down the spine simply because they're favorites and because each one contains a message that shines through comfortable musical elements.
Hall treats each selection with carefully chosen instrumentation, coloring each with appropriate hues. “You Must Believe in Spring" evokes a Spanish classical setting ...
read moreTake Five With April Hall
by AAJ Staff
Meet April Hall:April Hall, a Florida native, has roots steeped in southern tradition, music and culture. Her deep roots in southern gospel and blues combine with urban soulfulness and sophistication, to create music that's pure, gutsy, and unmistakably authentic.
In 1993 April graduated from the Berklee College of Music, where she received the prestigious Louis Armstrong Performance Award. She has done projects for Atlantic Records under the direction of Arif Mardin and for the ...
read morePamela Hines: Twilight World
by Jim Santella
Pianist Pamela Hines puts her quartet through a powerfully driven modern mainstream session on Twilight World, which also includes searing ballads and heartfelt blues. With tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, she interprets a program of pert originals and other fresh themes.
Marian McPartland's “Twilight World" serves as the album's centerpiece, with its flowing melody and light Latin beat. The pianist provides a strong foundation for Bergonzi's articulate tenor, applying sparkling counterpoint that flows naturally. Her solo interludes give each ...
read morePamela Hines: Twilight World
by Paul Olson
Massachusetts pianist Pamela Hines has an elegantly swinging style with nimble, precise soloing and a great, autonomous left hand. Too bad there's not more of her on her CD Twilight World. She's got a great-sounding supporting cast in drummer Reed Deiffenbach, fretless electric bassist David Hines, acoustic bassist John Lockwood (these two split the album's nine songs between themselves), and tenor master Jerry Bergonzi. So where's Hines?Bergonzi's a journeyman player who knows his way around a tenor as ...
read moreActon Jazz Club Has New Year's Eve BBQ Dance Party Featuring April Hall Band
Source:
MassJazz: Jazz in Massachusetts
The Acton Jazz Club in Acton MA is having a Southern-style BBQ and Soulful Dance Party to usher in the New Year on December 31, 2011 from 8:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Blues and gospel vocalist April Hall is performing, along with her band, consisting of Tim Ray on piano, Mike Williams on guitar, Tom Hall on saxophone, Mark Poniatowski on bass and Les Harris, Jr. on drums. They'll be performing from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The barbeque buffet ...
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April Hall at the Acton Jazz Cafe on August 22nd
Source:
Michael Ricci
VOCALIST APRIL HALL TO APPEAR AT ACTON JAZZ CAFE Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 9:00 PM New CD: Fun Out Of Life “The effulgent Hall has a rich commanding voice and the stage presence of an old soul of jazz" --Boston Globe “Hall's vocals soar... her range of vocal ability goes from soft and understated to powerful and heartfelt." --JazzReview.com “Hall sings standards in a voice of honey and smoke." --The Boston Globe Bee Boy Records presents jazz ...
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Vocalist April Hall Releases "Fun out of Life" on Bee Boy Records - Free Download!
Source:
All About Jazz
On her latest CD, Fun Out of Life, April Hall revitalizes the classic jazz standard, creating music that's alive with energy and attitude. From subtly nuanced ballads to soul-drenched blues, the emotional power of her delivery is perfectly framed by the elegant simplicity of her arrangements. Hall's performance is deeply personal on “I've Got the World on a String" and unapologetically swinging on “Foolin' Myself." She sings Jimmy Rushing's “Boogie Woogie Blues” with an authentic southern swagger, and gives an ...
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April Hall, Mark Poniatowski and Pamela Hines at the AJC on March 8th
Source:
All About Jazz
"The exquisite, soulful vocals of April Hall deliver every lyric with emotion and conviction." -Jazz Times
“...Visceral power, impresses by not trying to impress.” -Northeast Performer
"Oh yea, She Swings!"-The Phoenix
"Hall delivers with honey-coated phrases that melt gracefully while she upholds the tradition"-All About Jazz
“The effulgent Hall has a rich commanding voice and the stage presence of an old soul of jazz.” -Boston Globe
"…An achingly beautiful voice" -All About Jazz
"... her instrument is a pleasingly clear and expressive" -Cadence Magazine
Primary Instrument
Vocals
Location
Boston
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
Credentials/Background
For more information: www.aprilhall.com
Clinic/Workshop Information
April teaches both private students and Boston's Berklee College of music. Ms. Hall also teaches modern vocal techniques throughout the U.S. as well as Master classes on "Songwriting in a Free Society" and "Mastering Modern Microphone Techniques". To inquire about studying with Ms. Hall, please visit www.aprilhall.com
Gene Ammons
saxophone, tenor
Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals
Tony Bennett
vocals
Nat King Cole
piano and vocals
Gene Harris
piano
Fats Waller
piano
Joe Williams
vocalsPhotos
Music
I've Got the World on a String
From: Fun Out of LifeBy April Hall
Videos
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