Arnaldo Desouteiro, Jazz Station Keyboards: 9. Chris McCarthy (“Sonder” –RPR) Drums: 11. Anders Vestergard (“Inside Turnabout” – Drumvoice Records) 12. Victor Lewis (“Akua’s Dance” w/ Akua Dixon – Akua’s Music) 13. Ralph Peterson (“Common Ground” w/ B.J. Jansen – Ronin Jazz) Vibes/ Marimba: 4. Nikara Warren (“Mae Sun Vol.1: Inter-Be” – Calmit Productions) Miscellaneous: 1. … Read More
Joe Meyers, Connecticut Post After spending several years performing for audiences in Broadway shows and on the road, Julie Benko had to make some major adjustments when she stepped into a studio to record her debut album. “It is so different to be working with a microphone and no live audience. I’m used to being … Read More
Backstage When I was a child, Ella Fitzgerald sang me to sleep. My father would be listening to her—or to any number of the jazz greats—on his stereo in the other room, and I would cozily drift off to dreamland nestled in the arms of the Great American Songbook. During the day, I would regale … Read More
C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz A debut recording, Introducing Julie Benko, brings to ear another polymath, Julie Benko, whose experience boasts acting for stage (Including Broadway) and screen, singing, and composing. She is a bit polyglot, with a certain fluency in Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew, a cultural mixture that lends Cole Porter’s “Love for Sale” … Read More
Suzanne Lorge, New York City Jazz Record
Hobart Taylor, KUCI 88.9FM The thing about early Streisand that shot a twenty something to the stratosphere of song stylists in the ’60’s was her extraordinary skill in “acting” a song. This is a tradition the comes from the Yiddish stage and permeated Broadway musicals. Benko is in that tradition. Singing mainly familiar chestnuts, often … Read More
George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly Julie Benko has a sweet gypsy flair to her voice, and uses it well on this flexible release which features her own material and some clever covers. The core team of Jason Yeager/p, Danny Weller/b and Jay Sawyer is supplemented by various horns, strings, etc to create a variety of … Read More
Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs’s Blog There is a Dixieland-feel to this songbird’s production on the very first cut of her debut CD. Titled, “Tomorrow is a Day For You.” It’s a joyful composition penned by Benko and she explains in the liner notes that she wrote it as a celebration following the US Supreme … Read More
Vocalist Julie Benko Announces the Release of her Debut Album “Introducing Julie Benko” Due Out October 20th, 2017 Featuring Pianist Jason Yeager, Bassist Danny Weller & Drummer Jay Sawyer Spellbinding songstress Julie Benko steps into the spotlight with the October 20th release of her debut album, “Introducing Julie Benko,” a diverse eleven track collection of jazz … Read More
