Salena is now preparing for another month-long concert tour of Japan when she is so much looking forward to seeing many of her friends and fans following the tragic tsunami events of March.
This
visit crosses July and August and encompasses
concert halls, clubs, and includes the Imperial Jazz
Festival with the Blue Sky Big Band in Tokyo and
Osaka, as well as the Hokkaido Jazz Festival. Salena`s
comprehensive Japanese website at
www.bavic.co.jp/SalenaJones/
includes the full itinerary, band members` profile
and much other information.
When she returns to England, Salena is booked to
appear at London`s newly-refurbished, The
Pheasantry, in Chelsea, for September 9th and
10th, when she will be accompanied by the Geoff
Eales Trio
www.pizzaexpresslive.com
Salena is booked to return to Japan
again over December.
Salena`s autobiography "Have You Met Miss
Jones?" has just been printed and can be
ordered through this website.
Earlier this year, Salena again sold-out London's
Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
BLUESAND
SOUL.COM wrote “Salena Jones reinforced the
saying "form is temporary, class is permanent" with
a truly moving version of 'Everything Must Change' a
classic evocative ballad”; and TIME OUT
“Stunning British-based US singer with a touch of
Sarah Vaughn in her technique and a feel for working
intimate jazz venues, Jones is on fine form, and
packs a soulful and emotional punch live”.
Salena generates such a sense of intimacy in
her style and presence. It is a high-wire act,
without props, artifice or arena-style amplification;
Salena speaks directly to the audience and they are
entranced and just keep coming back for more.
Salena made three visits to Japan last year, in
2010, latterly for five
weeks over November and December for concerts and to
promote her new album, `Salena sings J-Ballads` –
her first on the Pony Canyon label, which features
Salena`s interpretations of popular hit songs
previously recorded in Japanese, some of which have
been translated especially for her. Salena appeared
on the Fuji FNS Festival, broadcast nationwide,
singing one of the songs in a live duet with the
Japanese pop star `JuJu`.
Following her earlier visit in August to headline
the 2010 Muroran
Jazz Festival in Hokkaido where she sang to 3,000
people, Salena returned to England having been asked
to appear at a memorial concert to Chris Dagley, a
musician with whom she had worked since he was a
very young man and whom she held in warm affection.
Here is a `Jazzwise` review extract of what
was a special evening:
“Jamie Cullum, Salena Jones and Carleen
Anderson Pay Emotional Tribute To Ronnie Scott’s
House Drummer Chris Dagley – 20th September . . . .
There was a suitably warm atmosphere at a packed
Ronnie Scott’s last night as the great and the good,
including club owners Sally Greene and Michael Watt,
club members and the cream of UK jazz talent, paid
tribute to the dearly departed house drummer Chris
Dagley, who tragically died on 28 July.
One of the
early, and unexpected, highlights was an appearance
by Virginia-born vocals veteran Salena Jones, her
molasses sweet voice recalling Nina Simone’s
bittersweet melancholy on a deeply moving trio of
songs. She’d hit the emotional core of the night
that some of the more effusive performances had
slightly avoided, albeit in celebratory tribute to
Dagley’s infectious energy ......”
Jazz fm included Salena`s classic version of
`Am I The Same Girl`, arranged by Keith
Mansfield, on their latest 2010
Soul Cellar album, where she is in good
company with Aretha Franklin, Ben E King and Little
Richard. You can hear this great track on this
website under Videos.
During 2009, Salena also made three concert and
festival visits to Japan, and headlined the
‘Diva’s In The Park’ July festival in Thailand.
In October that year, Salena appeared at London’s
Ronnie Scott’s, where she still holds the record for
her seven consecutive weeks’ run at this famous
club. The full performance review, "American
vocalist Salena Jones makes a triumphant return to
Ronnie Scott’s” by Frank Griffith, Director of
Performance Arts at BBrunel University, can be seen
on The London Jazz website at
On You Tube there is a nostalgic Japanese production
of Salena Jones’s biography – from her Newport News
origins as Joan Shaw, to New York, emigration to
Europe and England, and brief highlights of her
outstanding career: www.youtube.com. This is one of
a growing number of videos (now several dozens)
posted by Salena`s fans around the world.
...
the beautiful voice of swing
