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World Cafe is taped, and will roll sometime soon!

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

DAYNA KURTZ:

TUNE IN TO "GORGEOUS AND GRIPPING" (PASTE MAGAZINE) SINGER ON NPR THIS WEEKEND; CATCH HER ON THE TUBE AND ONSTAGE NEXT WEEK

Stoked by early buzz from NPR ("something special") and regional raves from her recent tour with Richard Thompson ("Kurtz makes ordinary misery voluptuous" - LA Weekly), anticipation is running high for next week's release of 'Beautiful Yesterday,' the new album by Brooklyn-based singer Dayna Kurtz.

Following a laudatory review that aired on All Things Considered on July 14, Dayna will be the subject of a feature segment this Sunday, August 1, on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered. The segment is scheduled to air between 5:30-6PM local time in most markets. Check www.npr.org for a list of affiliates.

Next week, New Yorkers can catch Dayna play a cd release show at 7PM at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette St, NYC). And tune in to CNNfn earlier that same day when Dayna is scheduled to be a live guest on "The Biz," where she'll discuss her raved-about new album. Speaking of, here's what we're reading about 'Beautiful Yesterday':

"Something special ... [Kurtz has a] strong, sultry voice and cozy, confident approach to melody."
- Jim Fusilli, NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, July 14, 2004

"Kurtz has an instantly recognizable voice, an almost hoarse whisper full of weary passion that sounds both comforting and dangerous, a voice on the edge of enlightenment or madness. "Love Where Did You Go," an original song of lost love, is as mournful and poetic as anything Leonard Cohen has ever cut."
- j. poet, HARP MAGAZINE, September/October 2004

"Like a younger Nina Simone, Kurtz can switch from languorous reflection to wounded gutsy attack. Highly recommended." FOUR STARS!
- Ian Cranna, Q MAGAZINE, August 2004

" 'Beautiful Yesterday' [is] gorgeous and gripping - essential nocturnal listening."
- Bruce Warren, Asst. General Manager of WXPN radio in Philadelphia, as quoted in PASTE MAGAZINE, August/September 2004

"One listen to singer-songwriter Dayna Kurtz's new album makes you wonder where and how she's been hiding all this time ... With 'Beautiful Yesterday,' it's time for everybody else to get in on the secret musicians have known about for years."
- Steve Baltin, PERFORMING SONGWRITER, September/October 2004

""Kurtz makes ordinary misery voluptuous, and sings other people's songs (Prince, Leonard Cohen) as if she knows better than their authors what those songs are about."
- Judith Lewis, LA WEEKLY, July 9-15, 2004

--
Matt Hanks
Shore Fire Media
32 Court St. 16th Flr
Brooklyn NY 11201
718.522.7171 ext 17 tel
718.522.7242 fax
mhanks@shorefire.com
www.shorefire.com

DAYNA KURTZ:

NPR PRAISES "HAUNTING, LOVELY" SINGER'S, "STRONG, SULTRY VOICE";

OTHER MUSICIANS FLOORED BY KURTZ'S TALENT

In the Sept/Oct issue of Performing Songwriter, Steve Baltin writes of Dayna
Kurtz: "it's time for everybody else to get in on the secret musicians have
known about for years."

After hearing a review Dayna's forthcoming album 'Beautiful Yesterday' on
NPR's All Things Considered last week, one of those musicians decided to
spread the word. Rebecca Martin, an acclaimed singer-songwriter, and a
habituae of the same scene centered around the Living Room on NYC's Lower
East Side that Dayna is a part of, posted the following to
www.daynakurtz.com on July 15:

"Dayna, I wanted to write to let you know I heard parts of your record
yesterday on NPR. I had to pull over, as I was floored by what I heard. I
didn't recognize your voice at first - and then, I knew it was you. It was
haunting, mysterious, lovely. Perfect music. It's a masterpiece, really -
I'm very excited for all that is coming your way right now. You are a
beauty, and I think the world is about to find out what we all knew all
along."

The secret is out. Dayna Kurtz's new album 'Beautiful Yesterday' hits
stores August 3. Come see her at Joe's Pub in NYC on August 5.

www.daynakurtz.com

www.shorefire.com/artists/dkurtz
--
Matt Hanks
Shore Fire Media
32 Court St. 16th Flr
Brooklyn NY 11201
718.522.7171 ext 17 tel
718.522.7242 fax
mhanks@shorefire.com
www.shorefire.com

 

 

May 10, 2004
"Dayna Kurtz has a powerful voice and she wields it delicately."
TIME OUT NY

"Kurtz's language evokes a timeless ambiance ... A major talent at work."
-ALL MUSIC GUIDE

DAYNA KURTZ:

KISMET RECORDS TO RELEASE 'BEAUTIFUL YESTERDAY,' NYC SINGER/SONGWRITER'S HAUNTING NEW ALBUM, ON AUGUST 3

ALBUM CONJURES GHOSTS OF NICO AND EDITH PIAF THROUGH KURTZ'S OWN COMPOSITIONS AND RIVETING INTERPRETATIONS OF SONGS BY PRINCE, DUKE ELLINGTON, LEONARD COHEN AND OTHERS

NORAH JONES AND GENRE-BUSTING CLASSICAL QUARTET ETHEL CONTRIBUTE TO ALBUM

LOOK FOR DAYNA ON TOUR WITH RICHARD THOMPSON THIS SUMMER
She has one of those voices. Like Nico or Tom Waits or Edith Piaf - it's a voice that is at once striking and subtle, bold and nuanced, and above all, completely unique. Once you hear Dayna Kurtz's husky delivery, heavy with emotion and memory, you're unlikely to forget her. And on her new album 'Beautiful Yesterday' - set for August 3 release on Kismet Records (distributed by Ryko Distribution) - she lends that voice to three of her own distinctive compositions, and songs by Prince ("Joy in Repetition"), Duke Ellington ("I Got It Bad" - featuring Kurtz fan Norah Jones), Leonard Cohen ("Everybody Knows"), Billie Holiday ("Left Alone"), Estzer Balint ("Amsterdam Crown"), plus "Lost and Looking" a song popularized by Sam Cooke, and "Parlez-Moi D'Amour" (featuring acclaimed avant-classical string quartet Ethel) - a tune from the soundtrack to the 1991 film 'Henry and June,' and according to Kurtz "one of the loveliest melodies ever written."
Her choice of repertoire and guests on 'Beautiful Yesterday' is indicative of Kurtz's genre-hopping sensibilities. Her songs touch on jazz, r&b, blues, folk, rock, even cabaret, but they are bound by a certain melancholy continuity. Kurtz's musical road less traveled has influenced her business decisions as well. Often courted, never tempted, Kurtz is a committed DIY artist with live albums, studio recordings, even a concert DVD to her credit. Along the way Kurtz has logged more touring miles than she cares to count, been honored as Female Songwriter of the Year in 1997 by the National Academy of Songwriters, and enjoyed a hit single in Holland.
Dayna Kurtz will be busier than ever this summer, with several headlining NYC dates plus a just-confirmed tour with Richard Thompson, which will find her opening for him in NYC, LA and points in between in June and July.
For more information contact Matt Hanks at Shore Fire Media: mhanks@shorefire.com / 718.522.7171