Praise for Champian's NEW ALBUM "Speechless"
Champian's much anticipated new album, "Speechless", was released on March 17, 2017. Order your copy right now via the Store, or download via iTunes.
photo by Anna Yatsevich (courtest of Posi-Tone Records)
Pianist Champian Fulton unleashes her creativity to spellbind the audience until they are "Speechless.” With her first date for Posi-Tone, listeners are invited to sit back and dig the mesmerizing sounds as Fulton bravely embarks on her first ever record of entirely instrumental performances. With an amazing program featuring her own original compositions, Fulton delivers a tour de force demonstration of her pianistic prowess. This trio date is also highlighted by the solid harmonic foundation of bassist Adi Meyerson and the bombastically explosive metrics of drummer Ben Zweig. With a straight forward, swinging and soulful presentation that covers a wide variety of styles, sounds, and moods, Champian Fulton succeeds in delivering a stunning revue that will certainly leave every listener "Speechless" and bring bright moments to jazz fans everywhere.
"[Speechless] showcases her virtuosity as a performer and her inventiveness as a composer....Fulton’s undulating lines simply sparkle.....refreshingly modern and uniquely personal...." - JAZZIZ
"In an age when lots of albums try to sell you a bill of goods or present false deities, Champian makes her mark by just being herself. It's a novel concept that shouldn't have to be....Champian continues to dazzle and delight on this album, demonstrating that her truest voice may very well be found in her piano playing." Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
"loves to deliver unpretentious, swinging fun." - Downbeat Magazine
"...some full on whorehouse piano played with just the right amount of speak easy vibe that says ‘after hours spoken here'. A wildly charming date that brings a female perspective to the barrelhouse that Tatum couldn't, this trio hits it out of the park..." -Midwest Record
"a monstrously powerful sense of swing" - CD Hot List
"Champian deserves credit, admiration and respect for demonstrating that women in Jazz, more often than not, quietly and confidently let their excellent music do the talking." - 1320Radio.com
"an intensely personal statement - brimming with delicate flourishes, brilliant runs, and moments of quiet intensity." - Downbeat
"a genuine Jazz double threat" - Hot House Magazine
"a party in a box!" - Lucid Culture
"This is jazz as party music and entertainment: it’s anything but rote or slick. There’s a jubiliant, fearlessly improvisational quality to these songs." - New York Music Daily
"Speechless is 10 original tunes, 50 minutes of pure joy and takes Champian to a place where not many women have gone, not only making a mark as a brilliant vocalist, but musician and composer as well." - StreetCredMusic
"an ambitious, spontaneously fun new album" - Lucid Culture
"Speechless" may not have vocals but is a treat from beginning to end with nary a weak cut and a slew of strong solos. Just let the sounds seep into your brain; I guarantee you will feel better." - Step Tempest
"A record that's definitely got us speechless – as we had no idea that Champian Fulton was such a wonderful pianist! The record takes off from the very first note with a burstingly rhythmic sound, and a deft command of the keyboard that maybe takes us back to the generation of Erroll Garner and Art Tatum – but without any slavish references at all, just the kind of dexterity we'd liken to those two masters! Champian wrote almost all the songs herself – fantastic little numbers that really feel timeless, and perfectly suit the kind of energy she expresses with a trio that features Ben Zweig on drums and Adi Meyerson on bass – both players who follow her lead perfectly, like some of Garner's best trios. Yet at times, there's also even more of a left hand bite than that reference might imply – later currents of Ray Bryant, maybe – but again, Fulton's very much her own person. Titles include "Day's End", "Tea & Tangerines", "Later Gator", "Pergola", "Happy Camper", and "Carondeleto's". - Dusty Groove