Rave Reviews for Champian's *new* album "Live from Lockdown"
“Live from Lockdown” was ranked #20 among Jazz vocal releases of 2021 in the Annual Jazz Critics Poll!
The NYC Jazz Record included “Live from Lockdown” among it’s BEST vocal releases of 2021!
“Appearing live before a café or concert hall audience calls for a different tone than a remote broadcast to people sharing your experience of being trapped at home. She catches that distinct mixture of sentimental hope and bitterness, in both the choice of titles and delivery. The album feels like a phone call from an old friend, the kind that can shake you back into equilibrium…..There is a maturity and timelessness to this album, and it shouldn’t be dismissed as a lockdown era effort.” - Joe Bebco, The Syncopated Times
“Let this be the music we remember from the COVID-19 era, then, instead of something tatty, haphazard, or unnecessarily negative: a father and daughter facing an uncertain future and opting to have a musical conversation. Thank goodness we get to be a fly on the wall.” - Morgan Enos, JazzTimes
“arguably the best piano-playing singer and best singing pianist in jazz…..takes a colorful, sometimes misty, sometimes wry, sometimes joyous line by line approach on the mic and a steady, precise stroll on the piano on the album’s opening cut, I Hadn’t Anyone Till You.” - NY Music Daily
“This partnership [Live from Lockdown] produced empathetic performances that combined Champian’s dexterous pianism and spot-on vocalizing with Stephen who is equally adept at at playing fills behind his daughter and taking expansive solos. They will immediately grab your attention with a fun rendition of “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You.” - NJ Jazz Magazine
“With her strong left hand, mastery of swing standards and distinctive singing, which, while not derivative, could fit easily into ‘40s-50s jazz, one never misses other instruments when she performs by herself. [Champian] has helped keep a tradition alive not by copying the past but by simply being herself.” - Scott Yanow, NYC Jazz Record
“With wit and spontaneity, Fulton's jazz vocals and sprightly playing represent the kind of good times you would have had if you could have gone out to see her. Snappy, snazzy and full of joie de vivre, we need more like her.” - Chris Spector, Midwest Record
“[Champian] has a warm, soprano tone and a sincerity to her vocals that is hypnotic and comfortable…..Ms. Fulton has a great piano technique and its jazz all the way, laced with blues. At times, traces of Erroll Garner’s unforgettable style is evident.” - Dee Dee McNeil, Musical Memoirs
“"Au programme, des standards qui mettent en évidence la maestria vocale de Champian, la qualité hors pair de son jeu de piano en solo et en accompagnement et son sens de la note juste. (...) une maîtrise remarquable. Un disque précieux.” - Alain Tomas, Academie de Jazz
“This is one of those albums on which every track has something to appeal to the attentive listener, a reminder that we shall get through this pandemic by keeping attention fixed on more positive matters.” - The Rehearsal Studio
A new album from Champian Fulton is always cause for celebration, and when she’s joined by her father, the outstanding flugelhorn and trumpet player Stephen Fulton, you can be assured of a warm, complex, and golden-toned musical experience. As a singer, Champian acts as a sort of prism: through her brain and her voice, the melodic playfulness of Billie Holiday and the impeccable intonation of Ella Fitzgerald and the strutting confidence of Sarah Vaughn are all refracted and emerge as a unique expressive identity; as a pianist, she’s like a history book come to life, switching between (and sometimes blending) stride, bebop, boogie-woogie, and cool styles seemingly without effort. This latest album is, as its title suggests, the product of the Fultons’ forced shift from live-in-person performance to livestreamed concerts produced at home. It consists almost entirely of standards, mostly ballads and mid-tempo swingers like “You’ve Changed,” “Satin Doll,” “Look for the Silver Lining,” and “Moonglow,” with a couple of lovely originals thrown in as well. As always, both Fultons play not only with skill but with heart, and with a rare level of interpersonal communication. For all libraries. - The CD Hotlist
“Mais cette chronique ne lui rendrait pas justice sans mentionner quelle chanteuse touchante et articulée se confirme ici la Miss. Le genre d’album intimiste, cosy et soulful à se repasser en boucle au coin du feu tout l’hiver: un authentique baume au cœur!” - Patrick Dallongeville, Paris-Move
“Pianist and singer Champian Fulton is one of many musicians who have kept active during the pandemic by doing a regular series of streaming performances from home. This album continues that concept, featuring Fulton accompanied only by her father, trumpeter Stephen Fulton. As both a singer and player Fulton comes off relentlessly upbeat, but with a knowing worldliness. She is far more out of Dinah Washington than Billie Holiday. She gives a coquettish sass to sad songs like "You've Changed" and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and really swaggers on "Blow Top Blues" and "Look For The Silver Lining." Her piano playing is a full-bodied blues and stride style that fits snugly against her father's trumpet. Stephen Fulton can play jolly and bright or lowdown and bluesy as needed and is not adverse to the occasional nod to Dizzy Gillespie or Clark Terry.” -Jerome Wilson, All About Jazz
Champian Releases *New* Album: "I'll See You in My Dreams" on August 25 (Venus Record)
I’ll See You in My Dreams / Release Date August 25, 2021 / Venus Record
Available on all digital platforms
Somewhere over the Atlantic, en route to a two week tour of Scandinavia, Champian Fulton received news that Sweden was closing its borders and going into lockdown, drastically changing her plans. With some unexpected time on their hands, Champian and her Scandinavian Trio (Kristian Leth on drums and Hans Backenroth on bass) took their new tour-ready repertoire and headed into the studio. The resulting album, “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (Venus Record) showcases the trio with instrumental numbers such as the title track, Horace Silver’s “Opus De Funk” and Champian’s original composition “Happy Camper.” Standout vocals include the unearthed gem “Every Now and Then” and the swinging Ahmad Jamal-esque arrangement of “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.” This cohesive and swinging trio plans to tempt fate by celebrating their first release with an 8 show tour of Sweden in September 2021.
Champian Fulton - piano / vocals
Hans Backenroth - bass
Kristian Leth - drums
Produced by Tetsuo Hara
Recorded on November 23 & 24, 2020 at FinlandStudio, Aarhus Denmark
Recording Engineers: Jacob Worm and Rune Hauge
Mixed and Mastered by Tetsuo Hara
Venus Hyper Magnum Sound Direct Mix Stereo
Photos by Jens Peter Engdal
Designed by Artplan
Track Listing:
All of You 5:22 (C. Porter)
Baubles, Bangles and Beads 3:55 (R. Wright, G Forrest)
Blues for J McShann 5:38 (Fulton)
Body and Soul 4:41 (J. Green / E. Heyman, R. Sour, F. Eyton)
Every Now and Then 4:59 (A. Silver, A. Lewis, A. Sherman)
I’ve Got a Crush On You 3:58 (G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
Happy Camper 3:48 (Fulton)
I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire 3:49 (E. Durham, E. Seiler, S. Marcus)
I’ll See You in My Dreams 3:48 (I. Jones, G. Khan)
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm 5:33 (I. Berlin)
Opus De Funk 5:44 (H. Silver)
Pennies from Heaven 8:01 (A. Johnson, J. Burke)
Champian Releases *New* Album: "Live from Lockdown", Release Date September 10, 2021
Publicity: Lydia Liebman Promotions // lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com (1)570-730-5297
The multifaceted pianist and vocalist Champian Fulton is pleased to announce the release of her new album Live from Lockdown, due out September 10, 2021. After her captivating Sunday-evening webcasts took audiences by storm throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, Fulton decided to offer a permanent recording of her series. To be released digitally and as a limited edition compact disc, Live from Lockdown features a representative selection of some of the most popular sessions from Fulton and her steadfast collaborator, her father Stephen Fulton on flugelhorn and trumpet. A profound display of cheerful composure during an uncertain time, Live from Lockdown showcases the musicians’ sophisticated synchronicity among a collection of re-imagined jazz classics and Fulton originals.
When the COVID-19 lockdown swept Manhattan last spring, Champian Fulton saw her packed schedule full of concerts and tours vanish before her eyes. "I couldn't believe it when all the cancellations started rolling in; it was really devastating to see an entire calendar year of touring vanish." Fulton shares. With venues closed, and with social distancing in full effect, Champian and her father, noted trumpeter and flugelhornist, began performing at home for a virtual audience. The concerts were an instant success, bringing in over 20,000 viewers on a given week, and winning legions of new fans for the Fulton family duo. "Live streaming was a total lifesaver for me. It not only gave me a way to stay motivated about my music but it connected me to my fans in a way I never knew possible. I felt so much love and positivity each Sunday; it kept me going through a very tough time.”
The success of the live-stream (which is still going strong albeit on a less rigorous schedule) inspired Champian to record a full album devoted to the concept. The resulting work goes well beyond the novelty, and is certainly far too cohesive a work to be thought of as a mere souvenir.
“For future listeners just hearing the music without knowing the context, it will be pleasure undiluted. For those of us who know the context, I think it will be one of those pleasures that deserves to be called sustaining, a gift that helped us in a rough time and, more importantly, told us it was worth getting through,” says critic Charles Taylor in his liner notes.
Live From Lockdown opens with Ray Noble’s, “I Hadn’t Anyone Till You.” Champian’s rosy rendition maintains a hopeful charm, even with Stephen’s short blows and percussive notes resembling a heavy heart behind Champian in her effervescence. On an original composition from the duo, “Pass the Hat”, Stephen performs a buoyant lowdown and more stylistic offering that is mutually grasped by his daughter on the piano.
Champian’s diverse range across Live from Lockdown is a showcase of a newfound posture she revels in while in the company of her witty partner. Her vocal versatility is embodied on tracks like “What Will I Tell My Heart”, and as the liner notes point out, “she can go from a high whispery register, consistently present throughout the album, to sudden low swoops that bounce us back to earth.” Uniquely, the Fultons cover Harry Warren and Mack Gordon’s “I Had The Craziest Dream” nodding to the ambiguity of our present moment, while still directing our ears and eyes toward normality sometime soon.
Fulton considers her optimistic spirit a statement of purpose, as her musical repertoire has always tended toward the sunny. And radiant she is on this twelve-track selection in the company of her father. Live from Lockdown is a reminder of how in sync the pair are on their first ever duo recording together.
"The Sunday series of 'Live from Lockdown' really reminded me of the importance of the Jazz community,” Fulton reflects. “I felt such friendship and kindness each week as people tuned in and chatted with me, checking out different records and sharing videos. It sustained me and gave me a hopeful perspective for the future of this music. I hope this recording gives the same feeling to the listener."
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Track Listing:
I Hadn’t Anyone Till You
You’ve Changed
Satin Doll
Blow Top Blues
Moonglow
What Is This Thing Called Love
What Will I Tell My Heart
Look for the Silver Lining
I Had the Craziest Dream
Pass the Hat
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
Midnight Stroll
A Message from Champian and Stephen
Champian declared "Lioness of Jazz" by hometown newspaper, the Norman Transcript
This feature on Champian ran in the June 11, 2021 issue of the Norman Transcript. Written by Doug Hill.
Champian Fulton’s fine vocals would better be described as a purr than a roar.
That didn’t prevent the Norman-based vocalist and pianist’s recording of “Tenderly” from being included in a recent Sirius XM Real Jazz radio program titled “The Young Lionesses.” The artist doesn’t mind being compared to royalty of the animal kingdom by the New York City broadcasting company.
“I like that,” Fulton said with a chuckle. “A lioness would be a good strong animal to be associated with.”
Since launching her musician career approximately 20 years ago in Norman, Fulton’s associations have been many. She relocated to jazz mecca New York City for several years. From there she was booked to perform at jazz festivals and concerts around the world.
Even in this era of live performance drought, Fulton continues to receive international recognition. She’s recently been invited into an alliance with Yamaha Corporation, the Japanese manufacturer of pianos Fulton prefers to play.
“I became a Yamaha Artist this year,” Fulton said. “They saw one of my ‘Live from Lockdown’ programs last spring. I have two Yamaha upright pianos that I use at home.”
Yamaha invited her into the cooperative agreement, which gives Fulton access to a New York City studio.
“I can record there or have concerts,” she said. “They’ll also supply me with the Yamaha piano of my choosing for concerts or recordings. We haven’t got to do that yet with touring on pause, but hopefully soon we’ll be able to make that happen.”
That arrangement is a pianist’s dream come true, because occasionally, the instruments at gigs are less than ideal. The live streaming show that the Yamaha folks heard continues.
“Live from Lockdown is every Sunday on Facebook and Youtube at 4 p.m. Central,” Fulton said. “It’s a live show where I play, sometimes with special guests, and interact with the audience. It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s kept me motivated to keep learning music in this year when I haven’t been performing much.”
The popularity of “Live from Lockdown” spurred Fulton to make a studio record based on the show that will be released later this year. It will be the artist’s first LP pressed in vinyl. In August 2020, Fulton released an album titled “Birdsong,” which was met by critical acclaim from around the world.
“The record is a celebration of Charlie Parker and the centennial of his birth,” Fulton said. “He would have been 100 in 2020. I am so influenced by his music and being from the Midwest like myself. I wanted to make a tribute to him and play these songs.”
Fulton’s long-time band of Fukushi Tainaka on drums, bassist Hide Tanaka and Stephen Fulton on trumpet/flugelhorn performed with her on Birdsong.
“My band has the same passion for Charlie Parker, and we brought in special guest and my good friend Scott Hamilton, the great tenor saxophone player,” Fulton said.
Birdsong is titled in reference to Charlie Parker’s nickname “Yardbird.” The platter received absolutely rave reviews from media jazz critics around the world. Fulton sings tunes associated with Parker including “My Old Flame,” “Star Eyes” and “Quasimodo” on the 11-track LP.
She’s been playing with her regular band since 2004, and their virtuosity together is magnificent.
“The longer you play with someone the relationship becomes stronger, and being together for so long has allowed me to grow with them,” Fulton said.
It helps that trumpeter Stephen Fulton is her father and jazz mentor who even played Charlie Parker’s recordings for Champian while she was still gestating in her mother’s womb.
“It’s wonderful to have a group of people you can try your artistic ideas out with,” Fulton said. “It’s wonderful to have the band there for working through arrangements and sharing the creativity.”
Fulton established herself on the New York City jazz scene, then internationally, but has always valued her roots in this part of the world.
One of the formative jazz concerts she attended as a youth was by Jay McShann (1916-2006) performing at the Deep Deuce Jazz Festival in Oklahoma City circa 1999. McShann was Charlie Parker’s band leader back in the day.
“People don’t think of music in a regional way anymore,” she said. “Just New York or maybe New Orleans, but there’s a strong legacy from this part of the country between Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Texas. I feel very Oklahoman. I love the land here, grew up playing music and feel very connected to the area. It swings in a different way here from New York City.”
Fulton has dates to play gigs in San Francisco, New York and the Parfum de Jazz Festival in Buis-les-Baronnies, France later this year.
Champian "Rising Star Jazz Vocalist" in the Downbeat Critics Poll!
Congratulations to Champian, voted as a Rising Star Jazz Vocalist in the 69th Annual Downbeat Critics Poll!
Champian Fulton's Live Django show reviewed in the NYC Jazz Record! (July 2021)
Joy is contagious when a performer exudes it. Pianist- vocalist Champian Fulton at The Django (Jun. 16th) generously and consistently dispensed that quality, delivering sophisticated, swinging turns whatever she played. Opener “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” clearly established piano and vocal skills on an even par. If Blossom Dearie and Duke Ellington had a love child, it could well have been Fulton. Her vocal tone is reminiscent of the former—light and girlish—but with more heft; her attack on the keys is intelligently percussive: energetic and determined, yet without a hint of heaviness. Superb vocal-phrasing skills were especially evident in a creative “Bubbles, Bangles and Beads”, a harmonically rich tune derivative of an Alexander Borodin string quartet. A few numbers without vocals, such as a jaunty ”What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry?” and “The Jitterbug Waltz”, demonstrated musical storytelling prowess through clean technique. The sublime bassist Hide Tanaka and solid drummer Fukushi Tainaka added delicious synchronic texture. The former brought an ethereal quality, sometimes reminiscent of koto playing; his bowing, especially on “I’ll See You in My Dreams”, a tour de force. Guest alto saxophonist Nick Hempton came aboard for the last three numbers of the set. He’s a solid, if unsmiling and serious player (in need of a dose of Fulton joy), demonstrating agility on a slow tempo “Just Friends” and a lightly swinging “You Turned the Tables on Me”. (ML)
FULL JULY ISSUE ON NEWSTANDS AND ONLINE. CLICK HERE.
Pictures by Chihiro Tainaka (supplied by artist)