Intimate Conversations

Her tone emanates from deep within her torso, her heart to be exact. Her voice is so enchanting that the words she sings almost don't matter.
Earshot Jazz

Over the last three decades, New York City-based Dee Daniels has built a reputation as being one of the few authentic Jazz singers of our time. Her towering four-octave range and blues & gospel-tinged jazz vocal stylings have been well represented on recordings with symphony orchestras, big bands, and small combos. For her new recording, Dee goes exceedingly intimate, pairing in duos and trios with eight giants of the music - including Russell Malone, Houston Person, and Cyrus Chestnut - to perform a set of ten songs featuring beloved classics like "All the Way," and "I Who Have Nothing," to pop hits such as "A Song for You," and Brenda Russell's "Get Here."

Production Info:

Produced by Dee Daniels
Recorded by Ted Brancato
at Mahogany Studio, Springfield, NJ
March 18-20, 2012; July 30, 2012; August 4 & 14, 2012
Mixed by Jeff Jones at Cine-Tone Productions, NYC
Mastered by Dan Dean at Dan Dean Productions, Mercer Island, WA
Cover photo by Devon Cass, NYC
Cover design and layout by Doug Fleming and John Bishop

Reviews of Intimate Conversations

Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
Daniels is one of those jazz singers that’s managed a four decade career without most of you ever hearing of her. Spending time in Europe and as part of the ensemble, no matter what the ensemble has been, it’s only been recently she’s been taking the spotlight. And speaking of taking the spotlight, this is an album of vocal/instrumental due ...

The Buffalo News (Mary Kunz Goldman)
Dee Daniels, Intimate Conversations (Origin Records). Dee Daniels sang once with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and though the concert was in 2002, I remember distinctly how good she was. She brought great emotion to a bunch of Ellington songs, and she sang the heck out of the blues. She was fun to write about, too. It’s not every day you ca ...

New York Jazz Record (Katie Bull)
In live performance the radiant Dee Daniels swings, grooves and dips into gospel edges from a core of warmth. Daniels delivers songs with uniquely relaxed humor, enveloping each audience member in a powerful sonic embrace. Her new album, Intimate Conversations (Origin) is a series of tight duos executed with eight jazz veterans, three of whom - Wyc ...

Rifftides (Doug Ramsey)
Accompanied only by Martin Wind’s forthright bass lines, the singer sets her story-telling course with the imperishable 84-year-old “Exactly Like You.” She and Wind are so convincing again in “I Wish You Love” that this listener found himself wishing for an entire album with just the two of them. However, Daniels is equally effective acco ...

Jazz Chill Corner (Dusty Groove)
Dee Daniels is the kind of singer who really takes us back to our precious time spent in jazz clubs on the south side of Chicago a few decades back - during the days when the old school jazz singer seemed to be a dying breed, as few labels really understood how to capture their genius or present them to the public. Daniels has an easygoing, relaxed ...

JazzTimes (Christopher Loudon)
Last year's aptly titled State of the Art teamed Dee Daniels with an ace quartet anchored by pianist Cyrus Chestnut. For Daniels' encore, her 10th studio album as leader, Chestnut is again onboard, but as one in a spectrum of stellar guests. As its name implies, Intimate Conversations places Daniels in cozy duo and trio settings, also featuring M ...

Jazziz (Shaun Brady)
Q&A With a powerful four-octave voice that sounds as if it's been fermented in the blues, singer Dee Daniels has fronted big bands and symphony orchestras over the course of her 30-year career. But as the title implies, her new CD, Intimate Conversations, is a collection of deeply personal duo performances. Choosing songs with lyrics that are t ...

Cadence (George W. Harris)
Do you want to hear what a vocalist is supposed to sound like? Give this lady a try! Daughter of a minister, Dee Daniels gives a Spirit filled album where she is teamed with (mostly) one other musician on a Decalogue of tunes, ranging from Depression era Tin Pan Alley to R&B with some Baby Boomer tunes thrown in for a complete meghilla of cozy conv ...