The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Rave about Sharón Clark

“You can’t underestimate the transformation of what seems like an ordinary song when an interpreter like Sharón Clark, a Washington-based jazz and soul diva, tears it apart and peers inside . . . Ms. Clark’s sound evokes not [Billie] Holiday but rather a less operatic Sarah Vaughan fused with the more animated side of Shirley Horn, a singer who also liked to take her time. Ms. Clark’s voice is rich, her phrasing unfussy, her jazz embellishments minimal.” -- Stephen Holden, New York Times

"The brilliant Sharón Clark . . . knows how to personalize the songs of Motown or the Beatles, no less than if they were by Gershwin or Rodgers, and offers an object lesson in how to revitalize someone else's vintage hit in a such a way that the original artist suddenly becomes the furthest thing from the listener's mind.  . . . her show at the Metro of songs from her AM radio youth is an absolute triumph."...

Like [Sarah Vaughan], her natural sound is almost operatic in its richness, but pure jazz in its improvisational sassiness.  But when she brings her remarkable instrument to bear on those pop hits of the post-nuclear age, which she clearly loves, she creates something new and amazing ...

All of which begs an additional question:  Why has Sharón Clark been so overlooked, particularly in New York, for all this time?  That is surely going to change." – Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal

Sharón Clark

Blame It On My Youth

Wednesday Sept. 26 and Thursday Sept. 27 - 7pm

Monday Oct. 1 and Wednesday Oct. 3 - 9:30pm

Chris Grasso, piano

Neal Miner, bass

Lenny Robinson, drums

34 West 22nd St.

New York, NY

www.metropolitanroom.com

One of today's most innovative jazz vocalists reimagines songs of the 60s and 70s.  Discover the widely acclaimed DC sensation and see why JazzTimes calls Sharón Clark "a revelation."

"I never thought I'd hear a singer with the range, musicality, and command of tone and timbre that was Sarah [Vaughan] at her best, but now I have."  -- JazzTimes

Hear the vocalist JazzTimes calls "a revelation"!

Hear the vocalist JazzTimes calls "a revelation"!

Washington, D.C. standout Sharón Clark has brought festival and concert audiences to their feet across the U.S. and Europe. Her 2008 release, Do it Again — My Tribute to Shirley Horn, is on its second printing, and she grabs top honors wherever she goes.

Ms. Clark won the Gold Medal and $10,000 top prize at the Savannah Music Festival's American Traditions Competition. She then took first place in the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, which offers a $2,500 prize along with a featured appearance with the Baltimore Symphony.

Ms. Clark has headlined the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival on the National Mall and the historic Lincoln Theater. The Cape May Jazz Festival has hosted Ms. Clark three times by popular demand. She has toured Republic of Kyrgyzstan and Russia multiple times. Both the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and The Ludacris Foundation chose Ms. Clark to perform for their separate tributes to Quincy Jones.

Famed bassist Keter Betts invited Ms. Clark to be the featured vocalist for his 75th Birthday Celebration, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution. Ms. Clark also has appeared as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony. In addition, Ms. Clark performed by invitation for President William Jefferson Clinton and other dignitaries at a retreat sponsored by the Democratic National Committee. Ms. Clark also appears regularly at Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C.

http://www.chrisgrassomusic.com/sharon_clark/bio.htm