NEA Jazz Master, Nancy Wilson, has been one of my favorite singers for many years. She is a song stylist of jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, and pop. She has recorded more than 50 original albums and has garnered three Grammy awards.
From the very first time that I heard her sing, I was captivated by her elegance, her sophistication, her style, her voice. Some of her classics such as, Save Your Love For Me, Guess Who I Saw Today, The Old Country, and The Masquerade Is Over are just a few of my favorite Nancy Wilson recordings.
It is my honor to uplift, thank, and celebrate the great Nancy Wilson for her contribution to music. Nancy Wilson is a musical treasure.
- Dr. Cynthia J. Felton
"The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life."
- Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
Cynthia Felton Sings The Nancy Wilson Classics
Cynthia Felton is a risk-taker in the time-honored tradition of musical pioneers who forge their own paths. She shares some characteristics with her forebearers - a nearly 4-octave range like Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald's enjoyment of scat singing, and Nancy Wilson's love of storytelling. I had the privilege of working with Nancy Wilson for 35 years, and now, my being a woman of a certain age, I watch the changing musical tides sometimes with regret. But there are singers who uphold the traditions while creating music that is fresh and new, uniquely their own. Cynthia Felton is one of these singers. Nancy Wilson calls herself a song stylist, embracing all genres so long as there's a story to sing. Cynthia too chafes at being labeled, explaining "I don't feel that I am just one kind of singer. I love music." On this CD she proves herself once again. Cynthia has the vocal talent, musical skill and soul that will sustain her far into the future. I am looking forward to joining her on many more musical journeys, wherever they may lead.
- Devra Hall Levy
Strollin': A Jazz Life Through John Levy's Personal Lens
Dr. Cynthia Felton dots all the i's and crosses all the t's when putting together an album. She's a detail-oriented singer with enough smarts, business savvy, and musical skill to pull off whatever type of project she wants to pursue, be it a salute to a woefully under-appreciated figure like Oscar Brown Jr. or a tribute to jazz's most lauded figure—the great Duke Ellington. For her third tribute album, and fourth album overall, Felton turns her attention to the work and legacy of vocalist Nancy Wilson. She follows her own previously established formula for success, enlisting the services of A-list musicians, putting together a playlist of appealing numbers, and crafting her own arrangements to suit her range and tastes. As in the past, this formula works like a charm.
- Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
"Cynthia Felton's four-octave range and keen jazz instincts could easily sustain a solid recording career. But she is far too intrepid and dexterous a musical explorer to restrict her role to mere vocal brilliance."
- Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
Save Your Love For Me
Freedom Jazz Dance
Come Sunday
Afro Blue
Save Your Love For Me
"Felton has a bigger, more piercing voice than her hero… with showy vocal acrobatics and heart-tugging melodrama."
- Geoffrey Himes, Downbeat
"Vocalist and educator Cynthia Felton is a fine jazz singer, with an impressive range and impeccable instincts."
- Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
"Felton's voice is pure and soulful so she's well-suited to walk in Wilson's territory. Dr. Cynthia Felton does a magnificent job celebrating Nancy Wilson, one of the greatest voices that jazz has ever known."
- Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
"That svelte figure and heart-shaped face embody more than just the sensuality one might expect but also a voice and artistic confidence that's as daunting as it is seductive."
- Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Music Exchange
"Keeping it classy throughout, Felton delivers the kind of date that honors both of them in the fine style they deserve. This jazz vocal set is as top shelf as you can get. A winner throughout for people who demand the real deal."
- Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher, Midwest Records
"Style, glamour, and a terrific homage to Nancy Wilson's repertoire!"
- Grady Harp, Amazon
"Though covering a legendary singer like Nancy Wilson would be a mistake for many singers, Cynthia Felton is right on the money, imprinting her own unique style through her arrangements that contemporize these classic tunes in a very sophisticated manner. Make room in your music collection for this rising star!"
- Brenda Nelson - Strauss, Black Grooves
Freedom Jazz Dance
"It's an impressive display…Felton has a superlative instrument."
- Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat
"Cynthia Felton's four-octave range and keen jazz instincts could easily sustain a solid recording career. But she is far too intrepid and dexterous a musical explorer to restrict her role to mere vocal brilliance."
- Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
"Felton is now three-for-three with the release of Freedom Jazz Dance, a fine addition to her discography and an excellent showcase for her voice, which lives at the crossroads of pure jazz, soul, R&B and gospel music."
- Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
"The lady can sing intimately, with all the innate rhythms of blues and jazz soaring when she finds it appropriate, and always puts the music in the right place. Beautiful to look at and to listen to. Cynthia Felton seems to simply have it all. Every song is carved out of sound and soul. This is a spectacular recording!"
- Grady Harp, Amazon
"Felton clearly appreciates the roots of the art form she holds dear. Both the technical ability and artistic soul to embrace jazz, blues and gospel into a uniquely personal statement, Felton's immense talent gracefully sidesteps standard categorization with the end result as an organic presentation of the soul. The zen like artistry of Felton knowing just what buttons to push and when to push them is a gift. Rarely taught, rather felt from a place well past the art and perhaps somewhere close to the soul. The original soul music. 5 Stars!"
- Brent Black, Critical Jazz
Come Sunday
"Felton brings a lot of virtuosity to the task – range, a sense of drama, a fluent scat vocabulary, and the multilingual vocal skills of a soul, gospel and pop talent."
- John McDonough, Downbeat
"Two years after her richly promising debut, an astute tribute to Oscar Brown Jr., educator, jazz historian, and vocalist Cynthia Felton is back to pay homage to a more imposing icon, Duke Ellington."
- Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
"Felton swings effortlessly, and she comes out swinging on the opening "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing," singing wide-open with no governor. There is not a throw-away song on this collection."
- C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
"If you think you know the essence of the influence of Duke Ellington on the world of jazz then take a listen to this new collection by the very beautiful and gifted jazz singer Cynthia Felton. Not only does this magnetic artist have a truly beautiful voice but she also knows how to use that gift to create amazing flights of fancy and depth of meaning in her approach to Ellington's music. The real clincher is that Felton is also the arranger of this
survey!"
- Grady Harp, Amazon
Afro Blue
"Young Cynthia Felton is an impressive vocalist with a formidable falsetto. She takes on the Brown songbook, and she shines on her thrilling gospel tinged cadenzas, as on "Afro Blue".
- Kirk Silsbee, Downbeat
"On her debut album, Felton puts all that training to effective use. Hers is a pure, rich, vibrant voice – that can, as required, be bright and shiny as a new penny, as playful as a rambunctious kitten or as arresting as a thunderstorm rumbling on the horizon."
- Christopher Loudon, Jazz Times
"While academically impressive, Felton is more impressive as a musician and arranger, as evidenced on her self-produced Afro Blue: The Music of Oscar Brown, Jr."
- C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz
"Five MARVELOUS Stars! Jazz singer Dr Cynthia Felton makes a wonderful debut with an all-star cast that includes various combinations of Wallace Roney, Cyrus Chestnut, Ernie Watts, Patrice Rushen, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Terri Lyne Carrington, and more playing her attractive arrangements of Mr Brown's original songs and his definitive lyrics to jazz classics."
