Courtney Jones' unique sound and songwriting style has been compared to Sarah McLachlan meets KT Tunstall, with a hint of Keane thrown in just for good measure.
Her full length album "Awake & Dreaming" is set for release in early '08.
Peter Malick (Norah Jones) produced. Mark Needham (Fleetwood Mac, The Killers) mixed all 12 tracks, and musicians such as Stevie Blacke (Strings -Colbie Caillat, Timbaland, Jennifer Hudson), Bob Glaub (Bass- Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks), and Butch Norton (Drums, Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman) are among those who added their collective genius in creating an amazing record. Steve Hall is mastering. Courtney wrote each song on the 12 track record, and though she has had some preliminary label interest, she financed the record on her own.
One of the tracks; "Long Way Down" is debuting in a feature-length film starring Michael Madsen, Darryl Hannah and Taboo of Black Eyed Peas. Her song will be alongside tracks from Peter Gabriel, Elton John, and Cat Stevens. It has been chosen to premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival the first week of January '08 and Sundance later that month.
Her music can also be heard on this year's Christmas in the Northwest10 CD
Since 1985, Christmas in the Northwest artists, such as Dave Matthews Band, Ann & Nancy Wilson of Heart, and Kenny G, have been lighting up the holidays, and raising money for Children's Hospitals through the sale of the Christmas in the Northwest CD series. Courtney is honored to be part of this year's project. "Christmas in the Northwest 10" CD is now available. Her arrangement of Amy Grant's "Grown up Christmas List" is the third track.
She has opened for Australian pop star, Warner Bros. recording artist, Missy Higgins in June 2006, at The Roseland in Portland, and again in the Fall of 2006 at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles. She has opened for Floater at Neumo's Crystal Ball Reading Room, as well as LA-based Bitter:Sweet, ATO label artist Vusi Mahlasela, and EMI's Raul Midon at The Triple Door in Seattle.
She has had multiple television appearances, including 18 broadcasts in November and December 2007 mostly on NBC affiilates in Seattle, Portland, Boise, and Spokane. Courtney has sung the National Anthem for 16,000 NBA fans at the Rose Garden Arena. Her band has provided pre-game entertainment on opening night for the NBA Portland Trailblazers in 2006 and 2007. She performed at this year's PGA sponsored, Jeld-Wen Tradition Tournament Dinner as well.
Courtney has been featured on numerous radio stations, most recently on the Radar Report on XM Satellite Radio. Her songs have been frequently featured on CBS Radio's KINK fm102's Local Music Spotlight and was the subject of a half hour interview on 105.1 "The Buzz" in Portland.
Courtney was selected as one of three, FM 105.1, The Buzz, "Buzz Bands" to perform on the Oregonian Arts & Entertainment Main Stage during the 2006 "Bite of Oregon" festival in Portland Oregon. She shared the stage with Epic's Augustana and Columbia Records' recording artists, Joshua Radin and Anna Nalick. Later that month, she was invited by KINK fm102, Portland Oregon's premier AAA A/C fm station, to be the kick off band for the 25th annual Hood to Coast Relay.
Her single "Ride" topped the All Genres charts as the #1 song of some 14,885 other tracks on iacmusic.com in April of 2006, charting higher than songs from artists such as Ani DiFranco, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Cat Power and Death Cab for Cutie. It remained there for 4 weeks. It topped the Alternative Chart on the same site for 12 weeks in a row. It was nominated for Alternative Pop Song of the Year on the site and remained in the Top 25 for nearly 18 months.
Her first EP was produced by Chicago-based, 2-time Grammy-winning producer Jim Tullio (Los Lonely Boys, Mavis Staples)
She has been invited to work with songwriting legend Bonnie Hayes and is represented by Bay Area-based Entertainment Attorney, Elliot Cahn.
Her current regional tour which includes shows in 6 states, (nearly 200 shows in the past 24 months) started with dates in California at The Hotel Cafe, On The Rox at The Roxy Theater, and The Mint in LA, Humphrey's By The Bay-Backstage and Lestat's in San Diego, and The Uptown Night club in Oakland, then the legendary House of Blues in Chicago, as well as BORDERS Store locations throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Utah.
Courtney has been the featured artist on a number of popular websites - including Live2nite.com!
She continues to be part of UMPQUA Bank's Discover Local Music project. The project identifies high-quality independent musicians throughout the West Coast and makes their music available online and in Umpqua's 127 stores.
More about Courtney can be found at her website www.courtneyjonesmusic.com
Instrumentation
Courtney Jones - Lead Vocals/Keyboards
Courtney is joined on tour by;
Mike Dongug - Lead Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
Steve Morgan - Bass (Electric & Upright)
Steve Turmell - Drums
Courtney can be booked as a complete band or as an acoustic soloist, duo, or trio.
Discography
"Awake & Dreaming" full length debut album due early 2008; produced by Peter Malick, Mixed by Mark Needham
MUSIC CONNECTION MAGAZINE REVIEW
Courtney Jones
Hotel Café
Hollywood
http://www.musicconnection.com/currentissue/clubreviews/clubreviews.lcgi#band3
The Players: Courtney Jones, vocals, piano; Mike Dongug, guitar.
Material: With subtle nuance, Courtney Jones’ piano-driven alt- pop acoustic-rock songs bear comparison to the work of Norah Jones, Dido, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. The relationship-oriented material is both personal and introspective. It’s infused with candid observations about life (“Waiting for Something to Happen”) and living by the philosophy of “going with the flow” (“Ride”). The numbers are never exercises in clichés or trite sentiments. Jones is economical with her lyrics and gets to the point fast with sly, sleight-of-hand wordplay that isn’t too precious or clever.
Musicianship: The bare elements of piano, vocals and guitar round out the melodic arrangements nicely and the various textural components accentuate the mu-sic. Her skills keep the tunes fresh, interesting and versatile (and more spontaneous than on CD). There’s nothing flashy or artificial about it. It feels very organic and natural the way songs build slowly. The creative tension mounts steadily and then sometimes peaks to exhilarating crescendos. Singer/songwriter Jones’ ethereal shadings soar and scale high in the octave range reminiscent of the sublime Sarah McLachlan.
Performance: Low-key and re-laxed, the performance was like watching these artists deliver a set of music in someone’s living room. The vibe was informal and casual, even though these players were of a professional caliber. These were seasoned musicians who have earned their chops doing many gigs on the road. Jones was down-to-earth and accessible. She talked between songs and made wry comments about how certain songs were conceptualized. She was al-ways gracious toward the receptive audience and smiled easily.
Summary: Courtney Jones offers something that resonates with most people looking for depth, substance and intelligence in their music. Her songs are well-crafted and have universal themes that touch listeners who have ever experienced heartbreak, longing and the journey into finding one’s sense of self.
––Harriet Kaplan
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