LATEST ALBUM RELEASE REVIEWS
February 6, 2023
Jazziz Magazine - New Releases
New and Upcoming Albums
"Tracye Eileen, You Hit the Spot (Honey Crystal): Chicago-based singer Tracye Eileen has released her third full-length album as a leader. Always exploring new ways to express herself, on this new album,Eileen returns to her straight-ahead jazz roots on an album of standards performed with a contemporary edge. You Hit the Spot was released last year on Honey Crystal Records. Tracye Eileen has the plus factors of energy, a bright voice, and confidence. And a ray of sunshine can be a good thing.”
https://www.jazziz.com/terence-blanchard-grammys-carol-sloane-more-the-week-in-
jazz/
January 29, 2023
Take Effect by Tom Haugen
“Eileen possesses a voice that can parallel the greatness of legends like Billie Holiday or Nina Simone,
and her calming, uplifting and swinging interpretations illuminate these classics in an entirely new light.”
https://takeeffectreviews.com/january-2023-4/2023/1/27/tracye-eileen
January 2, 2023
O’s Place Jazz Magazine by D. Oscar Groomes
“She’s an entertaining vocalist singing in front of her trio and sextet. She’s up close and personal on “The Very Thought of You”, “Just In Time” and the title track.”
November 21, 2022
JazzWax By Marc Myers
"A bunch of weeks ago, I was roaming around YouTube when I ran into Tracye Eileen singing Black Cow, a Steely Dan song from their Aja album in 1977. I was blown away. With her deep, rich voice, Tracye had nailed Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's song and intent perfectly. I wondered if she was planning a Steely Dan songbook album. So I asked."
https://www.jazzwax.com/2022/11/interview-tracye-eileen-on-you-hit-the-spot.html
December 3, 2022
All About Jazz by Richard Salvucci
“Eileen has a voice that recalls the edgy vibrato of some swing brass players, which is all to the good. There is something about her delivery that recalls Nancy Wilson, as much in her emotional impact as in any stylistic similarity… listening to more of Tracye Eileen is certainly an attractive idea.”
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/you-hit-the-spot-tracye-eileen-self-produced__2336
September 6,2022
Simply Jazz Talk (UK) by Simon Defty
“A well-delivered album of standards that have stood the test of time… the sound is firmly rooted in the 1950s classic jazz era.”
https://simplyjazztalk.blog/2022/09/06/tracye-eileen-with-you-hit-the-spot/
October 26, 2022
Music Pen Club by Keizo Takada
Tracy Eileen is a jazz, R&B, and soul singer based in Chicago's famous blues club, Buddy Guys Legends. She is a singer who has already put out four records and sings songs of different genres in her own style. Her latest work is a mini-album containing 8 songs, and she sings jazz standards that she has been familiar with in jazz bands since her school days with a slightly different approach than usual. "Love Being Here With You," "You Hit The Spot," and "The End Of A Love Affair" are backed by a six-piece band arranged by Thomas Gunther. Singing smoothly with a shout. The last five songs are "The Very Thought Of You," which is a live recording with a trio of Dennis Laxton (p), Paul Martin (b), and Lynard Strout (ds). "Just In Time," which she sings as if he were talking, left an impression on me. Recently, it feels like there are an increasing number of young singers like her who are not bound by genre. (Keizo Takada)
http://www.musicpenclub.com/index.html
October 26, 2022
Neon Jazz podcast with Joe Dimino
October 21, 2022
Rootstime (Belgium) by Jan van Leersum
“She knows how to captivate, and those well-known pieces are given new life… she makes the standards her own and performs them in a modest way, yet full of eloquence.”
https://rootstime.be/index.html?https://rootstime.be/CD%20REVIEUW/2022/OKT1/CD86.html
October 15, 2022
The Jazz Owl by Travis Rogers, Jr.
“Tracye Eileen makes her mark with permanence on You Hit the Spot. With sass and swing, wit and wisdom, Trayce Eileen proves her worth and talent over and again. She makes you want to dance. And I don’t dance.”
http://travisrogersjr.weebly.com/music-reviews/trayce-eileens-you-hit-the-spot
October 10, 2022
LA Jazz Scene by Scott Yanow
“You Hit The Spot is strictly swinging and Tracye Eileen sounds very much at home in this genre. Tracye Eileen, who hopefully will record with a big band someday, has a very attractive and powerful voice that sometimes hints at Nancy Wilson. She deserves to be heard.”
December 6, 2022
CD REVIEWS, NEWS, REVIEWS - Jazz In Europe BY JAN VELDMAN
"Tracye Eileen has indeed added “a contemporary edge” breathing new life into this set of well worn classics. So, this leaves me with the question, what is it about this album that makes it special? The answer is simple, It’s Tracye Eileen’s vocal performances."
https://jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl/2022/12/cd-review-tracye-eileen-you-hit-the-spot/
October 5, 2022
Sound Advice/Talkin’ Broadway by Rob Lester
“Tracye Eileen has the plus factors of energy, a bright voice, and confidence. And a ray of sunshine can be a good thing.”
September 22, 2022
Musical Memoirs by Dee Dee McNeil
“Tracye digs deep, selling each lyric with honest emotion… she shows off her range, hitting a high note that rings across the room like morning church bells.”
September 20, 2022
La Habitacion del Jazz by Jose Ramon
“Eileen touches our hearts with the warmth of her performance… fantastic performance, full of sensuality.”
September 19, 2022
Lemonwire by Dodie Miller-Gould
The way she sings is half the fun of the song. Eileen makes deft use of her impeccable phrasing. Listeners can feel the romance and flirtatiousness in her enunciation. Tracye Eileen has experience singing in more than one genre. Her work in jazz is impeccable, engaging, and entertaining. Here’s hoping that she sticks with jazz for more recordings to come.
https://lemonwire.com/2022/09/15/tracye-eileens-you-hit-the-spot-puts-a-joyful-spin-on-classic-jazz/
September 13, 2022
Soul and Jazz and Funk by Bill Buckley
“She brings an intimacy and her own perspective to this collection of jazz standards.”
September 13, 2022
Culture Mania (Netherlands) by Patrick Van de Wiele
“'The End of a Love Affair' is reminiscent of her great examples Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington. Although this CD was recorded with two different bands, it still feels like a coherent whole. So you can safely say that Tracye "hit the spot"!”
September 12, 2022
All About Jazz by Jack Bowers
“Sultry-voiced, Chicago-based vocalist Tracye Eileen spreads a bluesy blanket over what are essentially straight-ahead renditions. She has excellent range and is suitably emotive when required. She gets a good head start thanks to a splendid choice of material— eight blue-chip tunes, all from the Great American Songbook.”
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/you-hit-the-spot-tracye-eileen-self-produced
September 9, 2022
Jazz in Europe – New Release Announcement
https://jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl/2022/08/tracye-eileen-you-hit-the-spot/
September 6, 2022
Simply Jazz Talk (UK) by Simon Defty
“A well-delivered album of standards that have stood the test of time… the sound is firmly rooted in the 1950s classic jazz era.”
https://simplyjazztalk.blog/2022/09/06/tracye-eileen-with-you-hit-the-spot/
September, 2022
What's New On WDCB with Paul Abella
Tracye Eileen – You Hit the Spot (Honey Crystal)
Chicago vocalist Tracye Eileen has a great voice and two solid bands altogether on her new disc, You Hit the Spot. The Tracye Eileen Band, featured on three cuts, is an octet that sounds even bigger due to a three horn front line and some smart arranging, and a trio plus vocal configuration that swings and sways nicely. All eight selections here are well chosen standards that we all know and enjoy. “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Almost Like Being in Love” and a version of “Just In Time” that even includes the verse is sublime.
September 6, 2022
JazzQuad by Leonid Auskern (BELARUS)
“Judging by You Hit The Spot, she is, first of all, an actress who perceives each track as a new role and, accordingly, carefully gets used to the image. And then a well-trained strong voice comes into play, with perfect phrasing and tangible blues intonations.”
September 5, 2022
Exclusive Magazine by Russell Trunk
“Vibrant and heartfelt, quietly rambunctious.”
August 31, 2022
Bebop Spoken Here (England) by Lance Liddle
“An impressive take on a selection of GAS book classics. Her soulful, bluesy renditions bring to my mind Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson among others - but only in spirit - in actual performance she is nobody's clone…. an excellent session.”
https://lance-bebopspokenhere.blogspot.com/2022/08/album-review-tracye-eileen-you-hit-spot.html
August 26, 2022
Cabaret Scenes by Alix Cohen
“Tracye Eileen’s confident swing, Chicago-inflected pronunciation, and engaging attitude are appealing.”
https://cabaretscenes.org/2022/08/25/tracye-eileen-you-hit-the-spot/
August 19, 2022
Music Log by Michael Doherty
“Tracye Eileen is drawn to love songs, and does a fantastic job delivering them, her passion for the music clear in every note she sings.”
“A vocal performance that is both sweet and seductive, and with an undeniable power.”
https://michaelsmusiclog.blogspot.com/2022/08/tracye-eileen-you-hit-spot-2022-cd.html
August 16, 2022
JW Vibe by Jonathan Widran
“Eileen dazzles the trad jazz crowd with both soaring power and sultry finesse on You Hit The Spot. The perfect showcase for her ability to woo, seduce, sass us and swing mightily, it’s an ultra-infectious, craftily arranged set of standards, some very familiar, others delightfully obscure… her artful way with traditional jazz is truly one that hits the spot.”
https://www.jwvibe.com/single-post/tracye-eileen-you-hit-the-spot