Below is an excerpt from a Burlington Discover Jazz Festival article. The review is by Brent Hallenbeck and he is referring to the June 9th show at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts:

8 p.m. - The difference up the hill on Main Street, inside the Flynn, is stark. More khakis, fewer dreadlocks, for starters. The crowd wasn't as big, either, maybe two-thirds full, or about the size of the beer line at the reggae tent. Kate Paradise opened for Pizzarelli. She's our short-timer local girl - she and her partner, Joe Davidian, are moving to Nashville, where she landed a job teaching at Belmont University, a highly regarded music school. Nice gig. In the meantime, she put on a nice gig at the Flynn. Her voice is sultry but classy; she doesn't feel the need to belt out a jazz standard just to get your attention. She understands the power of subtlety. Her version of "The Shining Sea," accompanied only by Davidian on piano, was gorgeous.

A note from Kate: Tom did a great job on this article...he spent time interviewing both Joe and I and we are really grateful that he did the piece. The quotes, however, are not direct quotes but paraphrasing of what we said...

Local Jazz Vocalist Makes "Dreamy" Debut

By Tom Herzig

Starting with the ABC of it, and getting right down to the XYZ of it, 25 year-old jazz singer Kate Paradise's debut CD release, You Stepped Out of A Dream, is a sublime musical treat well worth attention. One chance to do that, in person, is Wednesday March 21 at Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier when Paradise performs at her CD release party beginning at 9 p.m.

Purchasing the album locally - think of it as the finest of locally grown produce - will benefit a worthwhile cause as part of the proceeds will be donated to the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment.

You Stepped Out of a Dream offers jazz standards with a variety of instrumentation, which, indispensably, includes Paradise's fiancee, East Montpelier born-and-raised pianist Joe Davidian. The CD's final track is a live recording of her Master's recital at the University of Miami with Davidian as accompanist. The duo met while undergraduates at Miami. "I asked him to play as part of my first recital my sophomore year because he was the best around and he went for it," Paradise said.

Paradise's vocal clarity, touch, and tone are exquisite. Her delivery seems deceptively effortless, but she swings what needs to be swung and is emotionally present. Along with Davidian, the album features John Rivers (bass), Nicholas Cassarino (guitar), Geza Carr (drums) and John McKenna (tenor saxophone). "Part of the song selection process had to do with wanting to vary the instrumentation," Paradise explained. "These are songs from the Great American Songbook that I love. When I perform, I'm often teased that I'm too young to sing such old songs. But to me, these are the best songs ever written." The list includes jazz classics popularized by artists Paradise holds in the highest esteem such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat Kind Cole, Blossom Dearie, Carmen McRae, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Paradise teaches voice at Johnson State College, Saint Michael's College and the Flynn Center for Performing Arts. She earned her BM and MM in Studio Music and Jazz Performance at the University of Miami. While in Florida, she received Downbeat Magazine's student award for Outstanding Solo Jazz Vocal Performance. Paradise will assume a faculty position at Belmont University in Nashville, TN in the fall.

"The point of a project like is to learn about yourself, reflect on yourself, your sound and your identity," Paradise maintained. "Now I have a new perspective on all of that. I learned a ton."

"Joey is a very talented and experienced accompanist," Paradise said. "He loves to do it. He makes an art form out of it. His "colorations" are very artistic. "When we're performing together I phrase things in order to leave space for him to flourish and he does the same. We were both influenced very much by Professor Vince Maggio at Miami about that, although Joey had more class time with him than I did. He stressed that there was a sharing to take place. That being a duo shouldn't be seen as, I vocalist - you background support. If Joey does go Liberace on me - starts filling up too much of my space - a raised eyebrow or some other little signal gets him back on track."

Paradise is a Hudson, NH native and an Alvirne High School alumnus. She credits two music teachers there, Gerry Bastien and Candace Friborg for being "very influential to me." "They included me in a lot of activities and performances, made me audition and basically got me out to the edge of the diving board," she said. "My parents weren't musicians, but I remember singing with my mother in church at an early age. She got me enrolled in a piano class. She came from a huge farming family in upstate New York that sang in four-part harmony for their own enjoyment."

Davidian was born into a musical family in East Montpelier and started taking classical piano lessons at age six. He studied jazz extensively with the late, acclaimed Vermont pianist Andy Shapiro and also studied briefly with professionals Kenny Werner and Jim McNeely, who appeared as a sideman on numerous recordings by major artists such as Thad Jones, Stan Getz, Chet Baker and Art Farmer. He was accepted into the New England Grammy High School Jazz program at Berklee College of Music in Boston and won the Vermont All-State Jazz Composition Scholarship in 1999 for a big band piece he composed and arranged.

"Andy was a religious spiritual person," Davidian said. "He was joyful and he expressed it with his music. He really knew how to teach. He gave me a lot of technical patterns, chord voices and harmonic information that got me serious about pursuing the piano as a career. Studying with Vince Maggio at Miami was very important for me. I knew I wanted to go to school there as soon as I met him. He was the first to get me to approach the instrument as a horn, a drum, an orchestra!"

Davidian currently holds a part-time position teaching jazz history at UVM and instructing classes for big band and small ensembles for the UVM Jazz Ensemble. Davidian will lead the UVM Jazz Ensemble when it opens for famed alto saxophonist Bobby Watson and his sextet at the Flynn Center April 14. He also performs locally with vocalist Taryn Noelle as well as Paradise.

"One of my strengths and one of my passions is as a vocal accompanist," Davidian said. "One part of my profession that I'm trying to improve upon is my teaching approach. How to reach the students. How to get them motivated to practice. I'm most comfortable with a visual learning style. Getting things written down. Reading what's to be played. Many people are more hearing oriented and I have to adapt to that. Kate has always wanted to teach. I think it comes more naturally to her. I'm thinking I'll have the chance to practice on my own a lot in Nashville. We kid around that there might not be much jazz piano getting played or taught there. Every year we talk about possibly someday moving to New York. There are many more musicians there, but there's much more work as well. It's better to be playing with musicians that are more accomplished than you are. It makes you better in the long run."

"I think what distinguished Kate and Joe at Miami was their initiative," Professor Vince Maggio, himself once a student of Oscar Peterson, recalled. "They were proactive and they loved the music. They were passionate about it. They took initiative. They accepted critical feedback and they worked hard because they wanted to be better. The recognized the effort it was going to take. If they're still thinking about the best ways for accompanist and vocalist to create, that's good. Kate will be more credible emotionally as a performer and she'll pass it on to her students."

"I was close to someone on the board of the Melissa Institute, which was founded in Miami," Paradise said. "It's a non-profit dedicated to preventing violence and assisting victims. After the Michelle Gardner-Quinn tragedy in Burlington, I decided I would make the commitment to donate money from the CD sales to them. People can learn more about them at www.melissainstitute.org.

Kate Paradise and Joe Davidian plan to be wed in October. Their web site addresses are www.kateparadise.com and www.josephdavidian.com

The Spiel Mid-March, 2007

THE BUCH SPIELER INTERVIEW: KATE PARADISE

With her quietly stunning debut CD YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM, Kate Paradise introduces herself as an accomplished and exciting jazz singer, bringing a fresh, new, and natural touch to the classic 50s style. Paradise's voice is clear and supple, with just the right haze of smoky warmth to suit the well-chosen material, and there's a knowing coolness to her phrasing that complements that tonal warmth quite nicely. The strong-yet-sensitively swinging accompaniments (including local legend Joe Davidian on piano) are a real plus here, adding to the vintage vibe, and to the overall sense of flexibility and musical adventure.

BUCH SPIELER- What have you been up to lately?
KATE PARADISE- I just released my first CD, YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM, so I've been busy trying to get the word out. I've got a few shows coming up to promote the CD. One at Parima, in Burlington,on March 17th, and one at the Langdon Street Cafe, in Montpelier, on March 21st. I also teach singing at Johnson State College, Saint Michael's, and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts.

BS-In what way -–or ways—- does Vermont itself influence your art and expression?
KP- There is such a great community of people who support live, local music in Vermont. That support is something I've never experienced anywhere else and it has made such a huge difference to me.
Also, there is no denying the influence of all the great musicians that live in Vermont. Some are people I play with and some are just people I to go listen to. Either way, being surrounded by so many talented people has pushed me to become better at what I do.

BS-.What new projects do you have on the horizon?
KP- I'm always looking for new songs to learn, old jazz standards with beautiful melodies and timeless lyrics...any requests?



BUCH SPIELER'S TOP 10 BEST-SELLING CDS

(For the week ending March 10, 2007)

1. LUCINDA WILLIAMS- WEST

2. ARCADE FIRE- NEON BIBLE

3. RY COODER- MY NAME IS BUDDY

4. NORAH JONES- NOT TOO LATE

5. ANAIS MITCHELL- THE BRIGHTNESS

6 .LILY ALLEN- ALRIGHT, STILL

7. YO YO MA- APPASSIONATTO

8. KATE PARADISE- YOU STEPPED OUT OF A DREAM

9. NATALIE MACMASTER- YOURS TRULY

10.CORINNE BAILEY RAE- CORINNE BAILEY RAE

A Visit to Paradise
The Stowe Reporter
02/08/07
By Mike Schaefer

Kate Paradise is a valuable jazz singer. More than just another pretty voice, Paradise has a stunning presence, and is an important addition to the Vermont musical landscape.

For instance, a cut of the proceeds from her debut album, "You Stepped Out of a Dream" (Sonic Mirage Media, 2007) will go to a Vermont nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing violence.

And, Paradise also teaches voice to the future musicians in this state at Johnson State College, St. Michael's College and the Flynn Center for Performing Arts in Burlington.

In a nutshell, Paradise is everywhere jazz is these days.

And upon a listen to "You Stepped Out of a Dream," you will realize just how great that is.
Vermont jazz singer Kate Paradise is donating a cut of the proceeds from her debut album, "You Stepped Out of a Dream," to a violence-prevention nonprofit.

Paradise, a youthful singer with an old soul at only 25 years old, kicked off her career almost instantly as a child in southern New Hampshire. As she honed her chops and realized her voice was beyond exceptional, Paradise started moving toward being a professional. Her high-school years were filled with jazz singing. She moved along to the University of Miami, where she earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in music. During her time in Florida, Paradise earned Downbeat Magazine's student award for Outstanding Solo Jazz Vocal Performance.

And now that she calls Burlington home, it's only a matter of time before you hear her sing yourself.

You can start with her recorded material. The recently released "You Stepped Out of a Dream" is not a hokey stab at jazz brilliance. Paradise enlisted expert Vermont musicians to make the sound complete and perfect, including pianist Joseph Davidian, bassist John Rivers, drummer Geza Carr, guitarist Nicholas Cassarino and tenor saxophonist John McKenna.

But her voice is beautiful.

On the opening track, "Mean to Me," a somber, slow-building ditty, Paradise exudes strength while barely stretching her vocal chords. Her lilting charm carries the song from opening to end.

It becomes apparent that Paradise is using the record to etch a theme of love and partnership. It's a perfect mellow record for sharing with a loved one.

By the time the title track comes on — a gorgeous song written by Nacio Herb Brown — the listener has been swept away from any closed-off corners of his or her mind. The music is an escape, a journey with Paradise's mellifluous voice as an escort, and the channeling brings you to a new, better space.

If you want to an indication of what Paradise is like live, check out the final track — "The Shining Sea," written by Peggy Lee and Johnny Mandel — and you will receive a wonderful gift.

In the back of your mind, you remember that the record has a dual purpose and that proceeds benefit the Melissa Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to violence prevention and treatment.

You come away knowing that Paradise is a special, rare musician. The sound is beautiful, the message is clear and that voice is radiant.

Paradise is still assembling a calendar of live outings, but so far, here's where you can catch her: next Tuesday, Feb. 13, as a guest on George Thomas's show on Vermont Public Radio, Feb. 17 at American Flatbread in Burlington, March 3 at Charlie B's at the Stoweflake in Stowe, March 17 at Parima in Burlington and March 21 at the Langdon Street Cafe in Montpelier.

By all means, pick up the disc now. It can be purchased at www.kateparadise.com.



At the Mike, a weekly column by Mike Schaefer, keeps an eye on the local music scene. Suggestions and comments are welcome at news@stowereporter.com, or by calling 802-253-2101.