Antoinette Montague's New CD Release, "Behind the Smile" Garners Great Reviews

    FAIRFIELD, CT, March 17, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE: Behind The Smile
TANGO Reporter The Magazine For Tango Lovers

Despite Antoinette Montague's statement maintaining that she simply sings "The music of the people," she is a true and genuine singer of jazz. On this, her most recent disc, she chooses a handful of songs new and old, but mostly classics of the jazz repertoire, like "I Hadn' t Anyone Till You" by Ray Noble, "The Song Is You" by Kern and Hammerstein II, "Lost in Meditation" by Ellington and Tizo, "Summer Song" by Brubeck, "Somewhere in The Night" by Billy May, "What' s Goin' On" by Marvin Gaye, as well as others. The subject that gives title to the album is the song that was written by her, the singer. Backed by a powerful notable quartet of soloists of swing -- Mulgrew Miller (piano), Bill Easley (saxophone), Kenny Washington (drums) and Peter Washington (bass), this compact disc by Antoinette Montague represents a pleasant surprise in the overall panorama of present-day jazz.

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE: Behind The Smile
Antoinette Montague Bringing Smiles
Daily Vault.com, March 2010

Antoinette Montague Is A Jazz Singer Who Stretches The Genre Boundaries

Antoinette Montague is one of the hot new jazz singers coming out of New York City in recent years. Mixed within her jazz are hints of other elements that have influenced her over the years including blues, gospel, soul, R&B, pop and the Great American Songbook. She seems to like to include at least one tune from every decade starting with the 1920s and coming right up to the present. So you get material from Jerome Kern and Duke Ellington alongside numbers by Smokey Robinson and Dave Brubeck.

She does one original, the title tune, "Behind the Smile," and the concept seems to be that there can be all types of emotions behind people's smiles including a lot of pain. This is Montague's second recording. It makes sense that her jazz always seems to have a bit of blues as a foundation for the sound. Her first CD was called Pretty Blues and the biography that came with it mentioned that as a teenager she felt the pain of losing a sister and her mother within a few years of each other. She turned to music as her therapy. Now the new biography that accompanied the current album mentions that while selecting and recording the material for this CD, Antoinette lost another sister as well as her best friend. No wonder the blues affects her sensibilities and is reflected in her music. Knowing the sadness in Antoinette's life just makes tunes like "Ever Since The One I Love's Been Gone" more poignant. She also does one straight blues number, Big Bill Broonzy's bittersweet "Give Your Mama One Smile." It's as if she grasps her pain wearing a velvet glove and holds it tight to her chest. She knows it's there but doesn't let it go, just feels it and remembers.

But this is not universally a melancholy album, just simply music tinged with wistfulness, sweetness and memories. Antoinette Montague brings a lot to the table, and the result is a satisfying feast.

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE: Behind The Smile
The Bookwatch, March 2010

Behind the Smile showcases Antoinette Montague's captivating singing voice as she performs classic jazz standards and little-known melodies, blended with elements of blues and gospel, and even adding jazz arrangements to material from other genres such as R&B, classic soul, and pop. The result is a smoothly flowing album sure to delight and entertain, featuring Mulgrew Miller on piano, Bill Easley on saxophone, reeds, and flute, Kenny Washington on the drums, and Peter Washington on bass. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys stellar jazz singing.

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE: Behind The Smile
JAZZ CD REVIEW
by Don Albert
Free.financialmail.co.za

I did my first Jazz Cruise to the Caribbean in 2003. More than 80 world-class jazz musicians and vocalists performed in various rooms and bars on the ship. Oddly enough, I was also impressed by a young woman passenger who sat in and sang at any opportunity just so people and other musicians could hear her; in other words, she paid her dues.

She comes from Newark, her name is Antoinette Montague and her CD Behind The Smile (Allegro Music/In The Groove) proves her effort was more than worthwhile. She reminds me of a kind of cool Dinah Washington. Her diction is excellent, her voice-control brilliant (listen to the long note she holds at the end of "I Hadn't Anyone Till You") and she's able to swing, sing the blues and add a little R&B. Actually she is able to inject a bluesy feel into whatever she sings.

The 13 tracks are impressive. Her repertoire also includes some seldom-heard songs such as Dave Brubeck's "Summer Song" and Billy May's " Somewhere In The Night", as well as Duke Ellington's music for the "23rd Psalm". She's almost raunchy on Bill Broonzy's "Give Your Mamma One Smile", swings madly on "The Song Is You"; she is downright groovy on "Get Ready" and lilting on "Meet Me At No Special Place".

Her accompaniment is impeccable, as one would expect from Bill Easley (sax, flute and clarinet). He once toured SA with organist Jimmy Smith. Then there's Mulgrew Miller (piano), Peter Washington (bass) and Kenny Washington (drums).

For Booking, please contact Blues Straight Ahead 203-820-8819.

Website: http://www.AntoinetteMontague.com

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