World Jazz Quartet Veronneau Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of 'Jazz Samba,' Which Introduced the South American Sounds of Bossa Nova to a Global Audience

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 50 years ago "bossa nova" was a term barely known beyond Brazil, until in 1963 "Jazz Samba," the milestone recording by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, took the world by storm. In popularizing the seductive, syncopated "bossa" rhythm, it became the only jazz album in history to reach #1 on the Billboard pop chart in March 1963. It ranks as one of the biggest selling jazz albums of all time and brought Brazilian composers such as Tom Jobim to worldwide fame.

Washington DC-area world jazz quartet Veronneau (http://www.VeronneauMusic.com) celebrate the 50th anniversary with their Jazz Samba Project CD release. Veronneau's CD features classic samba and bossa nova, plus new bossa nova arrangements of contemporary songs.

Veronneau's CD was launched with a concert at All Souls Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C., where the original Jazz Samba album was. The colorful history of the original recording has been recounted in published articles written by Veronneau guitarist Ken Avis.

Jazz Samba Project charted its first week out, rose to the top ten in the national jazz charts and regionally in 25 North American cities and earned high praise from critics. Latin Jazz Network said, "You can feel the high level of creative interpretation," Critical Jazz gave the album five stars and hailed Lynn Veronneau as "the sexy black dress of jazz vocals." Veronneau's 2011 album Joie de Vivre - Joy of Living met with similar success.

Veronneau, this month, received 3 Wammie Awards from the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) - Best Jazz Group, Best Jazz Vocal, and Best Jazz Recording for Jazz Samba Project. The album is to be launched this Spring in the UK. Getz/Byrd's Jazz Samba also invaded the Top 20 in the UK in 1963.

Quebecoise vocalist Lynn Veronneau is a compelling interpreter of song in the manner of Stacey Kent, Louciana Souza and Eva Cassidy. Singing in four languages, her seemingly effortless technique was developed through classical voice studies in France. She performed with notorious all-female group Les Horribles Cernettes – the band which had the first-ever photograph on the web - before relocating to the States.

Formed three years ago and fronted by Lynn and her husband, British guitarist and vocalist Ken Avis, Veronneau has logged countless performances in Europe and North America. They've been interviewed on BBC, Radio Canada and many American radio stations.

Veronneau received 6 Wammie nominations in 2012 for their debut Joie de Vivre - Joy of Living CD, and 7 nominations this year. For more information, visit: http://www.VeronneauMusic.com

Press contact: Ken Avis 
[email protected] 
(1) 202 294 6229

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SOURCE Veronneau