Dominique Eade

"Eade's vocal control and imagination are peerless," says the Boston Phoenix. "She's one of the few imaginative artists to have emerged in the field of jazz singing in this decade," says New York Newsday of vocalist Dominique Eade. Peter Watrous of the New York Times praises her "...immensely appealing sound..." and in a New York Times review of a recent performance, Ben Ratliff writes that Eade "had absorbed some of Sarah Vaughan's fearsome technique" Her voice was rich and clear and strong in all ranges; she had musicianship and cool intelligence and didn't seem to be ahistorical or to have arrived at jazz by accident." David Hajdu wrote in the New York Times Magazine, "I already knew who the Next Thing in jazz singing would be: Dominique Eade. An impossibly versatile vocalist, composer, lyricist and instrumental arranger..."
Entertainment Weekly named Eade Best Jazz Singer in their article on up-and-coming artists of 1996. The 1998 First Annual Jazz Awards in NYC nominated Eade for Best Debut Artist. She was voted in the top ten for Best Jazz Singer, and TDWR categories in the 1999 Downbeat Critics' Poll, and TDWR in the1998 Downbeat Critics' poll. She has been nominated five times for Best Jazz Vocalist in the Boston Music Awards and was voted Best Jazz Vocalist in 1996 and 1999. Eade was nominated for Best Jazz in Boston in the 2001 boston.citysearch.com. Signed to RCA Victor in 1996, Eade has been a featured performer in festivals including the Porto Jazz Festival in Portugal, The Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival's "Diva's of Jazz" concert with Terri Thornton and Abbey Lincoln (NYC), the Toulon Jazz Festival in France, the Molde International Jazz Festival in Norway, The Knitting Factory's "What is Jazz?" Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, the Litchfield CT Jazz Festival and many Boston Globe and Regatta Bar Jazz Festivals in Boston. In 1994 she was an artist-in-residence at the Wichita Jazz Festival, and she has been a clinician and performer throughout the United States and Europe.
Eade's second recording for RCA Victor, The Long Way Home, features Dave Holland, Victor Lewis, Bruce Barth, Mick Goodrick and Cyro Baptista. A combination of songs by some of Eade's favorites, including Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael, and Eade's own originals, the new CD explores the theme of home and the roads that lead you there. The Long Way Home reached the top ten on the Gavin Poll and was voted one of the year's ten best by many critics. CDNow's Ken Micallef writes, "Within the first few bars you know Eade is something seriously special. Eade makes you reconsider everything she touches as she eloquently interprets each song." Of her original songs on the CD Ed Hazell of The Boston Phoenix says, "Composer Eade pens melodies and lyrics that display the classic values of great American songwriting without sounding old-fashioned. For instance, "Rounding the Bend" has a knowing irony about heartache and a poetic use of metaphor and imagery that make it refreshingly witty and not at all self-serious." Jason Koransky of Downbeat Jazz says " the album creates a focused, lyrical and conversational atmosphere full of subtle nuance and superb musicianship."
Her 1997 RCA Victor debut, When the Wind Was Cool, "...a magnificently conceived and executed nod to June Christy and Chris Connor" - The Boston Globe, was voted one of the Top Ten CD's of 1997 by critics for Jazz Times, Jazziz, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and the Boston Phoenix. Produced by Ben Sidran, the CD revisits the repertoire of Connor and Christy with arrangements by Eade, Phillip Johnston, Fred Hersch and Allan Chase, and features Benny Golson, Steve Nelson, Fred Hersch, Matt Wilson and Peter Leitch. "Eade's rich voice, her effortless delivery and the tasteful assurance with which she embellishes melodies make her sound totally at home with this repertoire.... Benny Golson could have easily stolen the scene if not for Eade's commanding vocals." - Atlantic Monthly. The Boston Herald calls it "...poignant and more often than not, downright gorgeous."
Prior to signing with RCA, Eade released two self-produced CDs on the Accurate Records label. Both CDs combined a repertoire of lesser-known standards and Eade's own compositions. Her debut CD, The Ruby and the Pearl (Accurate CD 3924), featuring Stanley Cowell and Alan Dawson, won critical acclaim from Billboard, Jazz Times, The Boston Phoenix, CD Review, Jazz Hot,, Jazziz, and many other journals in the United States. Critics for Cadence Magazine selected The Ruby and the Pearl as one of the ten best jazz recordings of 1991. Nationwide air play helped to make her debut recording one of the best selling CDs on the Accurate label.
The follow-up release, My Resistance is Low (Accurate CD 3925), features her longtime collaborator pianist Bruce Barth, along with bassist George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash. It was voted one of the Top Ten jazz releases of 1995 by Billboard Magazine, #1 Jazz Vocal Record of 1995 by Ann Arbor News, and received four stars from Down Beat. With her "...dark and enveloping alto, penchant for melodic risks and the ability to resolve them with assurance and grace, she covers obscure gems, writes intriguing originals and swings ballads into deep, delicious grooves."-The New Yorker
A look at Eade's performing companions reveals her wide-ranging musical taste. She has worked extensively with pianist Ran Blake in duo performances and as a member of the Ran Blake Quintet with Ricky Ford. She was a soloist under the baton of Anthony Braxton in two Braxton operas performed at the Kitchen in NYC. In Boston, she co-led a group for several years with guitarist Mick Goodrick and led her own trio with pianist Donald Brown. While in New York, she had a working group with bassist Ben Street and drummer Kenny Wolesson, and she and bassist Mark Helias formed a duo. She has also performed with Bill Frisell, Cecil McBee, Gene Bertoncini, Bill Pierce, Billy Drummond, Larry Goldings, John Medeski and Bob Moses, and works frequently with pianist Fred Hersch. Eade has been a soloist with Butch Morris, Orange Then Blue, the Either/Orchestra, Marimolin, Boston Musica Viva, Composers in Red Sneakers, and the Jazz Composers' Alliance.
Eade recently completed a soon-to-be released duo recording, "Open" with pianist Jed Wilson and works frequently with guitarist Brad Shepik.
Since 1984, Eade has been on the faculty of New England Conservatory, where she teaches voice, composition and improvisation. She founded and oversees the Jazz Vocal program which includes classes, private lessons and ensembles. In the 1994 Thelonious Monk Jazz Vocal Competition, three of the eleven finalists, including the winner, Sara Lazarus, were Eade's students. The 1998 third -place winner Roberta Gambarini, also studied with Eade. In the 2004 competition, Eade's students Rachel Price and Jo Lawry were both finalists. Other former students receiving acclaim include Luciana Souza, Kate McGary, Lisa Thorson, Patrice Williamson, Kris Adams, David Devoe and Julie Hardy. After a six-year stay in New York City, Eade returned in 1996 to the Boston area, where she currently resides with husband, saxophonist Allan Chase, and sons, Julian and Stephen.