Singer, songwriter, and trombonist Natalie Cressman sets out in a fresh direction that goes well beyond the frontiers of jazz in her upcoming TRACES tour of the Midwest. Making stops in La Crosse, WI, Minneapolis, MN, Chicago, IL, and Grand Rapids, MI, Cressman will be joined by trumpeter Ivan Jackson, guitarist Mike Bono, bassist Jonathan Stein, and drummer Michael Mitchell. Still in her early 20s, the San Francisco-raised instrumentalist and chanteuse has assimilated the full range of her sonic influences into a startlingly mature, strikingly original voice. Coming off of a west coast tour with the Trey Anastasio Band, Cressman takes her turn as bandleader with her group’s Midwest tour while walking the line between cutting edge and timeless.
The TRACES tour represents a departure from the jazz world and an embracing of the modern soundscape. Cressman has assembled a talented group of Brooklyn-based musicians, bound by a strong simpatico, who have successfully managed to create a unique and highly accessible sound all their own by drawing inspiration from a broad range of styles, and bridging the gap between musical worlds. Fans can expect to hear new material off of Cressman’s forthcoming EP, songs from her second album, Turn the Sea, and some of the band’s live and still unrecorded material.
This Midwest tour is named for the soon-to-be-released first single from the new EP of the same name, Traces, and is a song that shimmers and sizzles by weaving rich harmony with the elaborate production found in today’s pop and electronic music. The voice and the vibe of the song remain honest and true to Cressman as a musician, though it puts her more in focus as a vocalist/songwriter than a trombonist. Traces is one of five original songs on Cressman’s forthcoming EP which will keep listeners alert with something new and different at each turn. Cressman is taking her music in a different direction that opens up a new world of listening, thinking, and feeling; a world where artists embrace technology without relinquishing the heart and soul of true artistic expression.
Although Cressman is widely known for touring with Phish’s Trey Anastasio, the San Francisco native leaves no doubt that she’s one of the most exciting players on the music scene today in her own right. With two successful CDs and another on the way, Cressman has been touring with her own band, grabbing the attention of fans and critics across multiple genres with her extraordinary talent as a musician, ear-catching melodies with lyrics that tell compelling and relatable stories, and an incredible energy and vitality that is utterly contagious. Her work as bandleader is passionately authentic, instantly accessible, and highly relevant to an electronically-fused musical environment; a combination that cannot be denied in today’s popular sonic landscape.
UPCOMING TRACES MIDWEST TOUR DATES:
19 NOV 2015 9:00pm
Popcorn Tavern
La Crosse, WI
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm
w/ Old Soul Society
$10 Advance Tickets, $15 at the Doors
$35 VIP
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1ijp9Ua
20 NOV 2015 9:30pm
The Cabooze
Minneapolis, MN
Doors at 8:30, Show at 9:30
w/ Kind Country& The Stringdusters
Ticket link: http://ticketf.ly/1O5PcLo
21 NOV 2015 9:30pm
Tonic Room
Chicago, IL
Doors at 8:30pm, Show at 9:30pm
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1FaygAh
22 NOV 2015 7:30pm
The Stache @ The Intersection
Grand Rapids, MI
Doors at 7:00, Show at 7:30pm
w/ Fresh Hops
Ticket link: http://bit.ly/1FSF5lk
