Sonya Kitchell 'Cold Day' album

What were you doing when you were 15? For most of us, our teen years were spent in a heady haze of exploration, experimentation and insecurity.

Very few of us were settled enough, or mature enough, to fully realize our talents at such an early age. Sonya Kitchell is that rare exception - at 15, she has truly found her voice, both literally and figuratively.

And what a voice it is -- there is an undeniable warmth and wholesomeness to Kitchell, which her debut record, Cold Day (produced by Steve Addabbo - Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega) perfectly captures. One hears hints of many of the greats, from the airy lyricism of Joni Mitchell to the phrasing of Ella Fitzgerald to the smoky romanticism of Norah Jones and Natalie Merchant, but the sound is all her own. It is unadorned, honest and heartfelt.

Beyond Kitchell’s vocal warmth, something that is perhaps even more surprising for someone her age is that she is a great songwriter. All of the songs on Cold Day are originals. To date, she has written over 100 songs, an incredible feat given that she only started writing three years ago, at the age of twelve. While never imitative, her material explores everything from jazz to folk-rock, R&B and pop. If you listen for it, you can hear shades of greats like Carole King, Van Morrison or even Burt Bacharach ("Tinted Glass"), but she brings in her life experiences to form something very personal. For instance, "Clara", was inspired by her reading of Isabelle Allende’s House of Spirits and "Someday" is Kitchell’s protest against conspicuous consumption.

Kitchell and her younger brother grew up and still live on 40 acres in rural western Massachusetts, where lush forested summer landscapes quickly turn cold and desolate in the late fall. Though nature serves as muse and inspiration, her courage stems from watching both of her parents carve out successful careers as artists. Her father is a top-selling abstract poster artist and her mom is a graphic designer. From them, the young Kitchell inherited a love of photography, travel and, most of all, music. They also inadvertently showed Kitchell how fickle financial success can be for artists, while at the same time instilling the knowledge that, with commitment and perseverance, anything is possible.

Kitchell got an early start as a musician, tinkering around as a young child on a well-traveled piano that she inherited from her maternal grandfather, a classical pianist and Vietnam war correspondent, who had originally had purchased it in Hong Kong. Her first performance came at the tender age of eight, when she sang during a piano recital given by her father's stepmother. Though much of her talent is natural, she has always worked hard to grow as a musician. At the age of 10, she began studying voice with the jazz singers Sheila Jordan and Rebecca Paris, and took her first music theory lessons at age 11. She made her big-stage debut at the 1999 Special Olympics World Games in North Carolina. More recently, her composition "Romance" was awarded best jazz vocal and best original song from the 2003 DownBeat Student Music Awards. She was selected to a week's study of jazz composition at the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program, which takes place at the Kennedy Center and accepts only 40 composers under 30 years of age worldwide.

2004 will prove to be a pivotal year for the young Kitchell. Cold Day hits stores in the late fall, and her band (whom she has been playing with for three years) will perform with national artists ranging from Taj Mahal to Tuck & Patty to Shawn Colvin. Though her list of accomplishments is long for such a young person, if you ask Kitchell, the last thing she’ll talk about is how old she is. Her goal is to be an amazing vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist - of, and for, any age. Her evolution will be televised.

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.

Tags

Details

Popular Songs

New Songs

Tracklisting

Sonya Kitchell - Cold Day