Brettina -||- Brettina [Floating Bridge Media]

Tags

Brettina, Female Vocalist, Jazz, Nassau

Brettina - Brettina

Brettina -//- Brettina – [Floating Bridge Media, 2010]

Brettina grew up in a show business family. Her mother is the gospel singer Leona Coakley-Spring. Her uncles are Theo and Kirk Coakley of the funk, disco, and R&B band T‑Connection. Others in her family are actors and musicians too. She was destined for a show business career.

She was born in the Bahamas in Nassau, the capital city. She began singing in early childhood. She spent several years of her childhood in Chicago, where she continued singing, acted in local theater, and appeared in national television commercials.

Her mother brought her and her brothers back to the Bahamas during her school years, to make sure she didn’t lose touch with her island-nation homeland. After a brief struggle to adapt to the strict school discipline, she thrived, regained her Bahamian accent, and won the Miss Bahamas Talented Teen competition.

Her family returned to the United States before she finished school, settling in Seattle, where she made the transition back to US school culture. She continued her education at the University of Washington, where she studied cross-cultural communications and arts.

For some years she was unable to visit the Bahamas, and over time she lost her accent. She became homesick, which was the inspiration for several of her songs. —Brettina.com

Read more about this enthralling new jazz vocalist by visiting www.brettina.com

..:: Source: Brettina.com ::..

Vernell Brown, Jr. -||- Do You Really Love Me [Verlita Records]

Tags

African American, Jazz, Jr., Piano, Vernell Brown

Vernell Brown, Jr. - Do You Really Love Me

Vernell Brown, Jr. -\\- Do You Really Love Me – [Verlita Records, 2010]

Vernell Brown got his career off to a quick start although it has stalled a bit since then. Brown was discovered as a teenager when he performed at a Grammy In The Schools program sponsored by NARAS as a substitute pianist. The result was that he was heard by Jerry Moss and signed to a contract at A&M where he recorded two CDs. Prior to that, Brown had started playing piano when he was four and then switched primarily to drums from the time he was six until he was 13. After returning to the piano, Brown studied with Terry Trotter and Charlie Shoemake, developing quickly.

He was a finalist at the 1988 and 1989 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competitions. While Brown’s debut A&M recording A Total Eclipse covered several jazz styles along with a bit of funk, 1990’s Stay Tuned was more r&b-oriented. Since then, Vernell Brown has maintained A lower-than-expected profile. He still has great potential. —Scott Yanow /Rovi -music.aol.com

..:: Source:Music.aol.com ::..