Press for Typhanie Monique
Praise for call it magic
Monique interprets a wide variety of intriguingly rearranged jazz and pop standards with agility and elegance.
Monique sizzles on “What Is This Thing Called Love?/ This Thing”…Her phrases undulate sensually around organist Tony Monaco’s resonant, dense chords.
“Called Love” has a spiritual feel as the introspective and somber Hammond B3 creates a haunting ambiance. The leader’s vocals, tinged with melancholy, soar over the earthy and uplifting organ soliloquy like a prayer.
Monique thrills with her sublime balance of spontaneity and maturity…Call It Magic is a new milestone in her brilliant career.
Hrayr Attarian, Chicago Jazz Magazine (see full review here)
Typhanie Monique is a no BS singer. Whether helping us to remember, or really hear for the first time, classic tracks from Cole Porter to Don Henley, Duke Ellington to Clyde Otis, Monique chooses to wear the tunes like a second skin. It also helps that the arrangements are brilliant, perfect both for her voice and the material.
Hobart Taylor, KUCI 88.9FM, University of California at Irvine (see full review here)
Typhanie Monique has built a significant résumé not only in jazz, but in soul and funk, and she brings it all together in her new release, “Call It Magic.”
Monique surrounds herself with an absolutely topflight crew of Chicago players, including Ben Lewis on piano, Joshua Ramos on keys, Victor Garcia on trumpet, Dana Hall on drums and cymbals, Tony Monaco on Hammond B-3 organ and many more. It’s an opulent outing, the equivalent of luxury casting in a big-budget film. But Monique has the charisma and artistry to keep the focus squarely on her uncanny instincts and peerless instrument.
Robert Rodi, Newcity Music (see full review here)
A deep recording about the full range of emotions surrounding this thing called love. It's 10 songs carefully chosen and unfolded by a master vocalist and backed by an incredible ensemble. It’s packed with beauty and surprise, smiles and, yes, a few tears.
Here we have an artist in full and beautiful control of her voice and her vision...It’s music made with great thought, even more care and, yes, a little magic. That’s the artistry of Typhanie Monique.
Frank Alkyer, Publisher, DownBeat
Read more about Typhanie's Call it Magic in the liner notes by Frank Alkyer
The presence of strings and other vivid instrumentation makes "Call It Magic" the slickest work Monique ever has recorded.
…there's no questioning the nimbleness of Monique's silvery voice, nor the ardor of her delivery. All the songs deal with the subject of love in one way or another, and despite the range of musical languages and accompaniments, a palpable sense of yearning and a streak of melancholy hovers over this recording.
…Listeners will decide for themselves, but there's no doubt Monique has struck out on a new path.
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune (see full review here)
"Call It Magic" shows Monique stretching out, not only in repertoire but in manner.
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
See concert review by Howard Reich here
General press
…the next major jazz vocalist coming out of Chicago.
… she whimsically invented lyrics, boldly sabotaged backbeats and freely constructed fast-flying phrases that defied predictability.
…she affirmed that not all of today's jazz singers are content to dwell on saccharine love songs. In an eclectic assortment of originals and covers, Monique applied top-notch jazz singing to poetic social commentary.
Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune Arts Critic
Monique's vocals morph from melody into improvisation and back again…
Ed Enright, Downbeat Magazine
Expected, and delivered: solid soul-jazz vocals from Monique that suggest both Sarah Vaughan and Minnie Riperton.
Chistopher Loudon, JazzTimes
Typhanie pours in the soul, a honey-voiced chanteuse. …words dissolve into scat that would make Ella smile.
Michael Sandow, Forest Park/River Forest Post
Typhanie's vocals are an array of bright colors painted on top of 10 beautiful instrumental landscapes.
Jose, KAOS Radio89.3FM
… powerful lead vocalist and songwriter… well-crafted songs never runs the risk of falling into mere cliché.
Peter Quinn, Jazzwise
Typhanie Monique’s lower registers get husky-the sound makes the song sound whole...Monique’s voice refuses to be typecast or easily predicted. The overall effect is a well-dressed wink from an age-old expression.
Dodie Miller-Gould, Lemonwire
Typhanie not only demonstrated how magical the voice can really be but also provided us with something very rarely experienced these days, vocal beauty.
Lori I. Huttie, Jazz in Europe
Christmas music may be great for the holiday spirit, but it doesn't always produce listenable jazz, rarely so, in fact. One remarkable exception comes in the form of singer Typhanie Monique and guitarist Neal Alger’s newest CD, "Yuletide Groove".
Yuletide Groove Press (2008), (see full review here)