You Are There Shawnn Monteiro

• 1 Dearly Beloved 03:15
• 2 Inside a Silent Tear 07:15
• 3 Let's Eat Home 04:07
• 4 You Are There 03:38
• 5 How Deep Is the Ocean? 06:24
• 6 You'll See 06:11
• 7 The Shadow of Your Smile 05:22
• 8 Autumn Leaves 05:44
• 9 Alone at Last 07:13
• 10 Never Let Me Go 03:47
• 11 Medley: I Hear Music/How High the Moon 03:21
• 12 My Old Friend 05:42
• Total Runtime 01:01:59

Info for You Are There

It’s been some time since we’ve heard from Shawnn Monteiro, jazz chanteuse extraordinaire. While the pandemic derailed most performance, Monteiro, who also spends a good deal of her time teaching jazz vocals in a university setting, managed to pull a recording together, and we’re all happy that she did.

You Are There, her sixth release overall and third for Whaling City Sound, is the gorgeous sound of a veteran vocalist whose artistry is crafted in the mold of Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McCrae, and Nancy Wilson. For the ride, she enjoys the company and support of two distinguished trios. The first half of the recording are with her regular working trio, which includes Michael Renzi on piano, Dave Zinno on bass and Steve Langone on drums. The second half is an earlier session at Brooklyn’s revered Systems Two studio, and features Kenny Barron on piano, Nat Reeves on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums. Trombonist Steve Davis and trumpeters John Allmark and Joshua Bruneau also make important contributions.

Monteiro handles her material the way a painter decorates a canvas with color. Her uber-talent lies in her ability to crush a ballad, whether it’s a sexy beast like “Alone at Last,” or a bluesy vocal like “You’ll See.” Her voice finds the loveliness between the notes, the subtleties of a lyric, the sincerity and passion of a song or a couplet or a simple line that comes straight from the soul, with a warm embrace.

“You Are There is an enjoyable and easily recommended set full of first-class singing that features Shawnn Monteiro in top form." (“You Are There is an enjoyable and easily recommended set full of first-class singing that features Shawnn Monteiro in top form." (Scott Yanow)

Shawnn Monteiro, vocals
John Allmark, trumpet (track 12)
Kenny Barron, piano (tracks 6-12)
Josh Bruneau, trumpet (tracks 9, 10)
Steve Davis, trombone (tracks 6, 7)
Joe Farnsworth, drums (tracks 6-10,12)
Steve Langone, drums (tracks 1-3, 5)
Nat Reeves, bass (tracks 6-10,12)
Mike Renzi, piano (tracks 1-5)
Dave Zinno, bass (tracks 1-3, 5)

Shawnn Monteiro
Exciting, captivating and completely distinctive” is how most jazz cognoscenti describe Shawnn's pulsating lyric style. Whether in the intimacy of a club date or the glitter of a Las Vegas showroom, Shawnn has delighted audiences from USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations.

Evident in Shawnn's liveliness of lyrical phrasing and intermittent scat variations is the influences of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, from whom she draws that inner core of creative energy. But good genes help, too. Shawnn's father was the late renowned bassist Jimmy Woode, veteran of the Duke Ellington band. Throw into the mix, a lot of musical inspiration and guidance from her Godfather, Clark Terry, and you come up with a combination that can't miss.

Percussion great and latin/jazz impressario Mongo Santamaria discovered Shawnn working in a club in San Jose, California and signed her on the spot to tour with his band. Shawnn electrified audiences as his only vocalist and female percussionist during that two-year circuit where she shared the stage with such greats as Stan Kenton, Celia Cruz, the Fania All-Stars, and Weather Report.

Since then, Shawnn has shared the stage with a prestigious list of notables jazz names: Clark Terry, Red Holloway, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster and the Basie Band, Nat Adderly, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Bobby Durham, James Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Keter Betts, Stanley Jordan, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, and Benny Golson....to name a few.

Ms. Monteiro has delighted audiences from the USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations and the American Songbook. The true quality of Shawnn's voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend an evening with her,

She continues to teach Master Classes all over the world, including one ongoing every summer in Italy since 1995. She is a former adjunct Professor at the Hartt School/Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz , University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut and also Rhode Island College in Providence Rhode Island.

Her popularity continues to grow as club-goers from Los Angeles to Rome extol the special feelings they share as she lulls them into a mellow mood as only a sensitive jazz vocalist can do. The true magical quality of Shawnn's exciting voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend and evening with her.

Shawnn teaches a Master Vocal Class in Rome and Genova, Italy every summer. (Ongoing since 1995) Artist in Residence – 2 Years at Rhode Island College (Jazz Vocals)

She was an adjunct Professor (in Jazz Vocals) at both Rhode Island College, Providence, RI and Hart School of Music, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT.

This album contains no booklet.