Erin Dickins

Posted on Sunday, September, 11, 2011 in Recent Jazz Vocal Discovery | Comments Off

A founding member of MANHATTAN TRANSFER, the original jazz vocal group, Ms. Dickins continues to enchant audiences throughout the world. She has performed and recorded with Leonard Cohen, Bette Midler, James Taylor, The Talking Heads, James Brown, Barry Manilow, Jaco Pastorius and Ashford & Simpson, to name but a few.

NICE GIRLS

is Erin Dickins’ debut solo album, recently released on Champagne Records. Anchored by the single and video Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast —a remake of 1950’s starlet Julie London’s hit —Dickins’ album was carefully crafted over a two-year period by a group of renowned musicians including composer Jesse Frederick (music for Flamingo Kid, Full House, Perfect Strangers, Step By Step, Family Matters), pianist/arranger Rob Mounsey (Kurt Elling, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Deborah Cox) and bassist David Finck (Harry Connick Jr., Steve Kuhn, Liza Minelli, Rod Stewart, Sir Andre Previn).

This collection of beautifully recorded and performed gems – from cool sultry ballads to swinging arrangements, is a perfect musical reflection to Dickins’ engaging personality.

Dickins comes from an artistic family. Her mother, who traded photo-portraits to a local opera singer in return for singing lessons for nine-year-old Erin, was formerly a dancer with the Rockettes in New York. Erin’s father was a passionate amateur jazz pianist who taught Erin to sing and play, sharing with her his deep love of music.

Dickins considers it her honor and responsibility to spread the joy that she experiences every time she performs. Music is an instrument of transformation, and Dickins is transformed when singing. She believes that as a musician she has been given a unique gift. “When I perform I give 200 percent. If I can be an instrument for joy, just for one instant, then I have done what is asked of me. That’s how you heal the planet, right? One song, one person, one joyful encounter at a time – it’s nice work if you can get it.”

Seeing Dickins perform with her live band is an experience you do not want to miss. Riding off of the success of her recent launch at Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD, Dickins will be performing several spot dates throughout the U.S in 2011 and is booking international dates in China and Europe for 2012.

She is currently in the early stages of writing and pre-production for the follow-up to

Nice Girls with Frederick.

In the meantime, she continues to devote her time working with children at

SummerFame, a performing arts summer program she founded in 2000, along with her other charitable efforts.

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The VOCAL SOUND OF JAZZ began airing on 89.5 FM (now WHRV-FM) on January 4th 1980. Originally a 30 minute program that aired on Friday evenings, the program expanded to it current 60 minute format and moved to Saturday evenings during the 90s. It was also aired over WUOM in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a five-year period in the late 1980s. Produced and hosted by Jack Frieden since its premiere broadcast, the program has always attempted to spotlight both jazz vocal music’s post 1950s history, as well as the new singers and songs that will continue to play an increasingly prominent role in the music’s future. With the internet’s ability to attract and entertain jazz vocal fans globally, Jack looks forward to broadening the mission and reach of the “Vocal Sound of Jazz” in coming years. Email Jack Frieden Vocal Sound of Jazz LLC 1056 Downshire Chase Virginia Beach, Va. 23452 Ph: 757 438 6785