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Valerie Day
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Dynamic and self assured, Valerie Day has a voice that is evocative of another time, yet refreshingly modern. Remembered for her work with the Grammy nominated band NU SHOOZ, Valerie has returned to her musical roots and her love of jazz. Whether fronting a big band or singing with a small jazz combo, Valerie injects new life into standards from the Great American Songbook with impressive range and effortless delivery.
Valerie first appeared on the world's stage with the '80's group NU SHOOZ. The band's first single, "I Can't Wait", became a smash hit in Europe - then made its way back across the Atlantic where it landed at the top of the Billboard charts. NU SHOOZ went on to record several other hit singles, sell more than a million records worldwide, and was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy.
Today, Valerie remains an in-demand singer and session player, performing and recording with artists ranging from the Oregon Symphony Pops to pianist Tom Grant, celebrated jazz songwriter/pianist David Frishberg, guitarist Dan Balmer and many others as well as recording for regional and national radio commercials.
Among her various musical adventures, Valerie began performing as one of the featured singers in the Woody Hite Big Band. Backed by key players from the Hite band, whom she dubbed “The Knights of Swing,” and with husband John contributing arrangements, Valerie went into the recording studio. The resulting CD, entitled “Beginning to See the Light”, marked a new phase in her career.
“I've always been attracted to horn bands, from the Shooz to Earth Wind and Fire to Count Basie,” she says. “When I heard Sarah Vaughan with Count Basie, it just turned my head around. I would listen over and over again to her note choices and her phrasing, and of course nobody swings like the Count.”
In her work with the “Knights of Swing”, there is no grandstanding in Valerie's approach, no superfluous displays of technique. Instead, like a seasoned jazz player, she searches for, and finds, the musical heart of each song. Her background as a percussionist comes through in her singing; in her subtle syncopations, skillful use of space and ability to flat-out swing.
Valerie sums up the “Knights of Swing” project by saying. “Doing this record got me reconnected with the reason I do music in the first place - because it brings me joy.”
“…Day sings with a warm, assured tone and interpretive depth…”
The Oregonian
The KNIGHTS OF SWING, [a.k.a. the Woody Hite Big Band] has deep roots in the Portland area going back to the 1930's, when the Big Band sound began to emerge. The group had great success, but disbanded when band members entered the service in WWII, and was reformed in 1971.
Ever since, they have been thrilling Northwest audiences, winning several “Best Big Band” awards from the Jazz Society of Oregon, and appearing in a wide variety of venues. Under new leadership of long time band members Mark Gaulke and Ham Howard, the band features a new generation of Portland's finest professional jazz soloists, backed up by a tight, swinging ensemble.
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