JAZZ NU MAGAZINE
“Let’s be honest, when it comes to Fleurine everything is out of the ordinary. ‘Every move that I make –insane’ she sings in her self-written lyric to the title-track “Meant to be!” This CD has nothing of an average debut CD. It has been recorded at the famous Rudy van Gelder Studio with a handful of the best musicians from New York. Top-arranger Don Sickler took care of the arrangements and renowned vocalist Jon Hendricks wrote the liner notes.
The result is really astonishing; Fleurine chose beautiful, seldomly heard compositionsby Kenny Dorham, Tom Harrell, Curtis Fuller and Thelonious Monk and wrote inspired lyrics to them, giving the tunes a new life. Her voice sounds like a fresh “Beaujolais Nouveau” and she made a 100% true Jazz record- a record on which the music has been melted together into a brilliant collective effort.
Don Sickler wrote his most beautiful horn-arrangements and the musicians perform far above their average inspiration. Fleurine, phrasing perfectly and flawlessly in tune sings with great ease over the most challenging intervals, making you forget that a few ‘wrinkles’ will make her voice more lived-through in a couple of years..”
MUSIC & MEDIA (Pick of theweek) ( Europe’s Radio Active Weekly)
“This fast rising star of the Jazz scene debuts with a bang!”-
JON HENDRICKS (Linernotes “Meant to Be!”)
“She writes intelligent and creative lyrics to jazz instrumentals ánd sings solos that she improvises as she goes along.She not only exemplifies this Artform at its best, but also proves that you don’t have to be born in America to do it, not anymore.. I can relax now, Fleurine is on the scene!”
DON SICKLER (Producer “Meant to Be!”)
Fleurine is a fresh new vibrant spark in the Jazz vocal world; she sings jazz, swings jazz and translates it into lyrics.”
MONTREAL FESTIVAL review
“Fleurine may be unknown to Montrealers, but her sensational first album – Meant to be! – with bewitchingly individual interpretations of Monk, Thad Jones and Joshua Redman, has established her as the jazz revelation of the moment”. JAZZ JOURNAL
“This Dutch singer has a delightful voice, great verve, excellent lyric-writing skills and a fine backing group. Her confidence and sense of maturity, both in sound and manner belie her years. At a time when around every corner there appears to be a platoon of new singers lying in wait, she has a much better than equal chance of making a name for herself”.
THE GUARDIAN
“Fleurine demonstrated a knack for cliffhanging timing. She emphasised how shrewdly she plays off the movement of the band. It was a typical instance of the way her warm sound balances against a pin-sharp sensitivity to space”.
THE OBSERVER
“This remarkable young vocalist can sing melodic lines that even good instrumentalists have trouble with. Her handling of the difficult art of “vocalise” is the most impressive since Annie Ross perfected it in the late fifties”
THE EVENING STANDARD
“As she underlined during a recent gig in London, the young Dutch singer Fleurine is definitely one to follow. Her cool, clean voice fits jazz like a glove – and she swings!”
EUROJAZZ MAGAZINE
“A new and original voice in jazz” – “Swinging hard with a sound of her own, Fleurine is bringing vocal jazz to the next level” – “Mature phrasing, a warm and lively stage personality”
THE EVENING STANDARD
“Singer from Holland whose debut album, a star-studded affair recorded in the US reveals her gifts as a lyricist. But she’s dedicated too, the composers are star improvisers like Joshua Redman, Kenny Dorham, and Ray Briant, and these neglected themes deserve the new lease of life her words will give them. Her voice is light, unassuming but musicianly, and her diction is unusually clear even on the numbers she sings in Portuguese. Fleurine remember that name-”
SOUTH WALES EVENINGPOST
“A gifted young person who looks like she has a successful career ahead of her is Dutch singer Fleurine.I look forward to hearing a great deal more from her in the future”
JAZZEXPRESS-UK
“Sensational new singer from Holland”
Jazz Review, Nordheim Westfalen Germany
Saturday night the large audience was in for a surprise: ” Fleurine Plus Five”. This extremely promising vocalist caused a stir because of a superb choice of repertoire, tasteful arrangements and a select group of musicians. Fleurine’s timing and her expressive talents are mature in spite of her youthful appearance”.
Haagsche Courant, Den Haag
“Fleurine is no sing-a-song type of singer. She is almost a fellow instrumentalist in the band. She sings very in tune and has excellent timing. We’ll be watching her closely”.
Geldersche Courant Arts & Music
“Hardly influenced by the usual sophisticated vocal sound and manners of leading ladies and barely interested in the perpetual “Paper Moon” idiom, Fleurine is concerned with the voice as an instrumental element in jazz. Without screams or growls, but simply with lyrics. She came by to let us hear why she is attracting attention in and outside this country.
Meanwhile she is on her way to New York where she is recording her debut CD. Fleurine is no vocalist with a trio of accompanists, she thinks instrumentally. She chooses instrumental jazz standards to which she adds her own lyrics, and arranges them in such a way that the voice and other instruments have equal merit. Her band is important because her self-willed view of vocal jazz needs kindred spirits. That and her swinging alto voice places her music in a different era than just entertainment; the group holds your attention continuously because of the perpetual interaction and Fleurine’s intriguing ability to reshape instrumentals vocally. And that’s jazz: finding new directions”.
Het Parool
“Young talent challenges old heroes at North Sea Jazz Festival 1994. At this year’s festival the new generation talents, including Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, guitarist Peter Bernstein and vocalist Fleurine ruled with highly successful standing-room only performances”.
NRC HANDELSBLAD
“The young vocalist Fleurine, at the head of a brand new quintet, has impressive diction. In a high speed performance of a composition by colleague Bob Dorough she succeeded in s(w)inging every word distinctly”.
Jazz at Mahogany Hall – Noord Hollands Dagblad
“Her repertoire is highly original yet very accessible because of Fleurine’s easy rapport with the audience. She manages to really involve the audience throughout the performance”.
Jazz Nu
FLEURINE – “MEANT TO BE” -(BLUE MUSIC )
Recensie van Tom Beetz, Jazz Nu, Juli 1996
“Laten we eerlijk zijn. Bij Fleurine verliep het een beetje vreemd. ‘Every Move That I Make-Insane” zingt ze in het titelnummer, en deze cd heeft dan ook niets van een doorsnee debuut-cd. Fleurine trad al twee keer tijdens het North Sea Festival op, maakte een tournee met het kwintet van Roy Hargrove, en vierde successen in de New Yorkse Blue Note. Deze cd is ook opgenomen in de befaamde Rudy Van Gelder Studio met de beste musici uit New York, met arrangementen van top-arrangeur Don Sickler en liner-notes van zanger Jon Hendricks.
Het resultaat is verbluffend. Fleurine heeft prachtige maar zelden of nooit gespeelde composities van Kenny Dorham, Tom Harrell, Curtis Fuller, Thad Jones en anderen van zelf geschreven niet van humor ontbloten teksten voorzien en de composities een nieuw leven gegeven. Fleurine’s stem klinkt als een frisse Beaujolais Primeur en ze heeft een met 100%-echte-jazz gewaarmerkte plaat gemaakt. Niet een typische Fleurine of Sickler plaat, maar een plaat waarbij de muziek samengesmolten is tot een briljant collectief, waarin Sickler zijn mooiste blazersarrangementen schreef, de muzikanten de gebruikelijke inspiratie ver voorbij zijn, en Fleurine perfect fraserend, loepzuiver en met het grootste gemak over gapende intervallen heenwandelt en doet vergeten dat een paar rimpeltjes haar stem in de toekomst verder zullen doen doorleven.
Kortom een plaat uit het onvergetelijke oogstjaar 1995 dat een prachtige Appelation Fleurine Controlée opleverde”.