PRESS QUOTES for
     CAPATHIA JENKINS and LOUIS ROSEN

 

ONE OUNCE OF TRUTH:
The Nikki Giovanni Songs
 PS CLASSICS

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: May 14, 2008
"The songs are sly, playful observations that take an off-center, positive view of life and love….Mr. Rosen’s music is notable…uncategorizable, a continually shifting musical patchwork of blues, folk, jazz and pop as earthy, tuneful art song….

"As Ms. Jenkins sang in a sweet, sunny voice with an undertone of resolve, a poet in touch with her life force smiled through the music."  

Nikki Giovanni's Bluesy Poems Soar in Songs

 

Bloomberg News, Review
by JEREMY GERARD, May 16, 2008
"The blissful collaboration of composer Louis Rosen and singer Capathia Jenkins is so intimate it would hardly seem capable of accommodating a third voice. But in the poet Nikki Giovanni, they have found a kindred spirit, and the combination has charm and beauty to spare.…

"Rosen [as] songwriter and musician, charts an irresistible landscape between pop music and art song….Jenkins, a Broadway veteran, is his perfect muse and foil, bringing her exuberance and voluptuous mezzo to even Rosen's most melancholy ruminations….

"The songs have a musicality that Rosen effortlessly draws out. The music is accessible; it wraps the words in an evanescent skin allowing cadence as well as meaning to come through….

"The performers are as good company as you could wish for."

 

 WEST SIDE SPIRIT/OUR TOWN     
JULY 25 – JULY 31, 2008
City Week
 MUSIC PICK 

Giovanni's 'Truth' Comes to the Iridium


Louis Rosen and Capathia Jenkins perform songs based on the poems of Nikki Giovanni

 …There's a fantastic time to be had with the sweet combination of Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen, now playing at the Iridium Jazz Club.

She's a blow-'em-away Broadway musical star who turns out to be a sophisticated and subtle musical artist. He's a well-regarded songwriter with a charming, understated stage style. Together, they're simultaneously adorable and smart. They delve bravely into challenging material.

At the moment, most of the material is from "One Ounce of Truth," the name of both their Iridium gig and a new CD. Rosen, the composer uses the poems of Nikki Giovanni as a starting point. This sounds esoteric…but Rosen's creations are moving and melodic. Putting Giovanni to music actually works….

That's true whether the poem/song is a funny evocation of a woman in crazy-love ("I Wrote a Good Omelete") or a passionate celebration of African-American—and African—music ("The Black Loom").  Rosen takes us on a tour of more personal territory, too, accompanying himself on the piano for a number from an earlier CD, "South Side Stories," which powerfully recalls his deep family connection to the Chicago neighborhood where he grew up….

 If Rosen is laid back, Jenkins is center stage. She deserves to be. She has great range, both in terms of music and expression. It's fun when she belts, but here she's proving herself a fine jazz interpreter, effective in both her enunciation and her phrasing, all without losing her girlish appeal…. 

Together, Jenkins and Rosen are both hot—but also cool. They have a warm presence that draws an audience in, but they also have staying power and a willingness to take creative risks. They're rich in talent. They're upbeat, but also deep.

Christopher Moore

 

Cabaret
By WILL FRIEDWALD | July 18, 2008

Marilyn Bergman, ace lyricist and president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, has spoken of the difference between poetry, which is intended to be read silently to oneself, and song lyrics, which are meant to be sung to an audience. The celebrated American poet Nikki Giovanni recognizes no such distinction, as the exceptional singer Capathia Jenkins and composer-guitarist Louis Rosen showed in a set at the Iridium on Tuesday and in a new album, "One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs," on PS Classics. Ms. Giovanni's poems are so rhythmic and conversational that it's hard not to hear them as music….

Ms. Jenkins voice isn't big so much as sweet and radiant. She's charming on Mr. Rosen's lightly Latin, polyrhythmic "The World" and displays plenty of maternal warmth on the lullaby "Kiss a Frog…."

…Ms. Giovanni's words…fit smoothly into Mr. Rosen's melodies. His setting of "That Day" compares well with an earlier setting for the text recorded definitively by Dianne Reeves. Indeed, among living songwriters, possibly only Marilyn and Alan Bergman themselves could do better.

 

Cleveland Arts News
The Plain Dealer CD Reviews:
by Donald Rosenberg/Plain Dealer Music Critic
Thursday June 26, 2008, 2:16 PM

"One Ounce of Truth"
Capathia Jenkins, Louis Rosen, PS Classics 

Louis Rosen brings jazzy and funky appeal to poems by Nikki Giovanni in his newest collection of songs. The verses sound completely natural in these settings, and especially as sung by Capathia Jenkins and composer-guitarist Rosen.  

Jenkins, who makes her Cleveland Orchestra debut Sunday, July 13, at Blossom Music Center, wields a clear, vibrant voice that wraps itself around words with sinuous and whimsical charm. We'll no doubt hear a different side of Jenkins at Blossom, where she'll have a chance to reveal her Broadway belt. Grade: A

 

EDGE, NEW YORK,
Review by FRANK PAIVA,
May 22, 2008 

One Ounce of Truth is the latest collection of songs from musician/arranger Louis Rosen and actress/singer Capathia Jenkins…. The CD is sophisticated and thrilling, a true treat for adults looking for meaningful pop music…

"The first time through it’s actually difficult to grasp the full weight of the songs. The music is so enjoyable. It’s only a few cycles later that I realized just how meaningful the words are and how much wisdom and clarity they have.

"Of course the emotional impact of the material would be nothing without Ms. Jenkins….She effortlessly traverses her entire vocal register throughout the album...just as comfortable with airy high notes as she is with soulful low notes….

Capathia Jenkins & Louis Rosen
One Ounce of Truth
PS Classics

…For a textbook example of a near-perfect marriage of poetry and music, try Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen’s latest CD, One Ounce of Truth.

…The words and music fit together beautifully, and as sung by Capathia Jenkins, the songs become a celebration of every facet of life. Rosen uses a wide range of musical styles to emphasize the many emotions in Giovanni’s words. Bassa nova, folk, jazz and a dash of soul all fit well with the sharply intelligent lyrics….

As powerful a dramatist as she is a singer, Jenkins conveys each number’s emotion with great care, giving equal attention to the lyrics and the music. Her voice flows easily from gentle to fierce as needed for each song, once again proving her status as a composer’s best friend.

Jena Tesse Fox,
Cabaret Scenes, July/August 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org

 

Set to music, Nikki Giovanni's Poems Fly, Dance With Life, Energy
THE REPORTER, Vacaville, CA
Review By Richard Bammer,
June 6, 2008 

"...After listening to the CD, I could only think that there is hope for new additions to the Great American Songbook.  For the overall impression was that the 13 tunes…were not only a refreshing insight into Giovanni's word artistry, but they were also reminders of why certain songs last over time and others fade away….  

"I was especially surprised how Rosen set Giovanni's words to a mix of modern and more traditional jazz, blues, soul and pop that puts the words in a bracingly new light.  

"Sweetening the deal is Jenkins' voice, by turns sultry, sweet and soaring, adding emotional nuances that enhance the intelligence of the poetry and never intrude on its conversational tone….

"One Ounce of Truth" is a lush and sensitive musical reading of Giovanni's enduring art. It lingers in the mind and soul long after the CD ends."

.

Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

"Usually when poems are set to music, the results are somewhat pompous art songs…. On "One Ounce Of Truth," Louis Rosen defies expectations and writes catchy melodies that fit the poems, even turning one poem ("I Want To Sing") into a twelve-bar blues….

"Capathia Jenkins has a beautiful, angelic voice with a wide range and could probably sing anything she desired.

"The music on One Ounce Of Truth, which is difficult to classify, is well worth exploring...."

.

TALKIN’ BROADWAY, CD Review
Sound Advice by Rob Lester, May 22, 2008   

"In their second album, singer Capathia Jenkins and songwriter Louis Rosen shine again, this time with poet Nikki Giovanni's works set to his music. Mostly warm, open-hearted and life-affirming, the quite varied musical settings set moods and illuminate the emotions, memories and bits of practical life philosophy in the poems.

"This set is a showcase for Capathia's vocal dexterity, demonstrating more colors in her voice…. She subtly shapes the tales and confessions in the material with attractively modulated vocals that personalize the emotions and serve the material.

"If the idea of poetry set to music makes you hesitate…forget it. These feel like songs…accessible, relaxed and cozy…effervescently giddy… dark and haunting…with the music coming on as a full partner to the words…"


The Nikki Giovanni Songs:
Louis and Capathia Do it Again
By Louise Crawford @ onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.com
May 13, 2008

Louis Rosen's musical settings of poems by the contemporary black poet Nikki Giovanni are a great leap forward in a career already sparkling with high points.

For those who are fans of Rosen's song cycles based on the poetry of Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes—and his own South Side Stories—the Nikki Giovanni songs will be yet another revelation.

Last night at the CD release show for One Ounce of Truth: The Nikki Giovanni Songs (on PS Classics) at Joe's Pub, the audience knew they were witnessing something very special…. The new songs swirl through a variety of musical styles and moods, including blues, R&B, funk and the smooth Brazilian vibe of The Moon Shines Down and The World, two ravishing love songs. The Laura Nyro-esque Telephone Song is a joyous and giddy swoon of musical pleasure.

There is darkness in You Were Gone and One Ounce of Truth and humor and a sassy sexiness in songs like, I Wrote a Good Omelet and That Day. The Black Loom…is a showcase for the funky, soulful side of Capathia.

Not enough can be said about the smarts, musicality, and 2-octave interpretative genius of Capathia Jenkins. She is a treasure to behold, on CD or on stage.

One Ounce of Truth, is another chapter in Rosen's musical exploration of black American poetry. The deceptively causal, often funny and wise verse of Giovanni is a perfect companion to Rosen's multi-timbered musical settings.