Cynthia Holiday is a New York/New Jersey based song stylist and is available to travel for US bookings and international tours. Ms. Holiday’s position as an up-and-coming jazz vocalist is evidenced by her most recent performances this year, including a guest appearance on the NBC –TV 4 “Early Today Show”, The International Women In Jazz Festival and the Jazzmobile Vocalfest. In 2009, she was a headliner in the Hartford Jazz Festival and has performed as the opening act for such performers as Roy Ayres, Gloria Lynn, Cissy Houston and mentor, Kevin Mahogany.
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Cynthia Holiday grew up around music. Her stepfather Calvin Hughes led his own big band and played trumpet with Count Basie, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Big Maybelle. “As a young adult, I watched my dad and his band perform regularly at the Terrace Ballroom and many of the hot spots in the New York/New Jersey area. He taught me about the business of music and the self-discipline required to excel as an artist”
Equally important to Cynthia was the experience she gained sitting-in with musicians on the jazz scene like Earl May, John Hicks, Harry Whittaker, Danny Mixon, Cecil Brooks III, Lafayette Harris and Radam Schwartz. She studied voice at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the Newark School for the Arts, and was coached by Rita DaCosta Turrentine, Marion Cowings, Jim Carson, Ken Hicks and Kevin Mahogany.
Ms. Holiday’s debut CD is entitled “Cynthia Holiday… All The Way” and includes guest artists Cedar Walton, David Williams and Joe Farnsworth. Her band members consist of highly acclaimed jazz musicians including Radam Schwartz, B3 Organ; Andy McCloud, Bass; Wayne Henderson, Drums; Julius Tolintino, Saxophone; Gerald Hayes, Saxophone; Joe Brown, Jr., Drums and Geary Moore, Guitar. The CD was released on Miles High Records and can be purchased online at Amazon.com and on her website
www.cynthiaholidaymusic.com.
“Her time has come with this release, Cynthia Holiday…All The Way. She seeks to continue the tradition of jazz women who sing the blues, a style that, in my observation, has become a lost art among vocalists. I hear the humor of Helen Humes, the soul of Ernestine Anderson, the warm timber of Mary Stallings and the storytelling of Marlena Shaw…but, make no mistake, what we here is pure Cynthia Holiday”…Sheila E. Anderson, WBGO 88.3
“I met Cynthia several years ago when I used to frequent various jam sessions in Harlem clubs and I was struck by her ability to quickly command the stage. Cynthia has fantastic stage presence and it’s time for her music to be heard”…Kevin Mahogany,Jazz singer
Performance Highlights…
• NBC TV 4 Early Today Show…2010
• International Women In Jazz Festival…2010
• Jazzmobile Vocalfest…2010
• Hartford Jazz Festival…2009
• Riverside Arts & Music Festival…2009
• 2008 Birdland Jazz Club with John Hicks
• 2008 Newark Symphony Hall..opened for Roy Ayres
Contact Information:
www.cynthiaholidaymusic.comCynthia_holiday@nj.rr.com
(201) 401-7902
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