Valerie Joyce

Valerie Joyce has been performing as a musician on the Seattle music scene since 1994. Born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother, she was exposed to classical music through her mother's piano playing and extensive record collection. After college, she moved to Seattle where she regularly appears with a variety of jazz ensembles.

Many of the songs on her 2006 Chesky release New York Blue have been in Valerie's repertoire for some time:

Of the Rogers and Hart perennial “It Never Entered My Mind,” Valerie says, "Andy (Ezrin) came up with a very cool reharmonized version of the song and, when I heard him play the first few chords, I remember feeling very inspired."

David Chesky recommended that Valerie try her hand at the Peggy Lee standard “Fever.” "It was a brand new song to my repertoire," comments Valerie. "Andy and I rehearsed the song and I suggested something simple, yet modern and cool sounding. I like the sparse arrangement of our version and Lawrence Feldman's spare saxophone solos."

Another of Joyce’s albums, The Look of Love: The Music of Burt Bacharach, was also released on Chesky Records in 2007.

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