CD DESCRIPTION: Classic jazz vocals backed by five of Chicago’s finest musicians in various settings ranging from duo with guitarist Andy Brown to sextet featuring Chicago veterans, trumpeter Art Davis and trombonist Russ Phillips. “van Nuis has a light, gorgeous and fairly delicate voice...a gift for melody... plenty of rhythmic confidence...naturalness when phrasing...overall intelligence makes understatement and subtlety virtues...personal involvement with a lyric.” -Frank John Hadley, Downbeat Magazine “Saturday night, Katerina’s early show stars Petra van Nuis, a name you may not yet know, but ought to hear more of in 2010. van Nuis’ light, lithe voice has a touch of sweetness – but just a touch, nothing cloying – and a maturity of phrasing and expression you don’t find in all that many singers under 50...Her reading of lyrics tells a listener than she knows things, with the easy confidence of someone who doesn’t have to prove that she knows things... -Neil Tesser, Examiner.com “...elegance and simpatico can go a long way. It ain’t about the fireworks, it’s about the purity of the performance and that’s what makes this one of those great, low key wonders. When you’ve got it going on, you’ve got it going on...Check it out when your adult listening ears need something new to fill them...” -Chris Spector – Midwest Record “I was just about stunned by her great dramatic range, mixing ruefulness, poignancy, and loss - without overacting so much as a hair. It was pure feeling, captured beautifully. I might never hear that song sung so heartbreakingly again. Petra gets first place in my imagined TALENT DESERVING COSMIC RECOGNITION category! ...” -Michael Steinman, Jazz Lives “van Nuis' vocal quality is at once strong and wistful. On the title track, a lovely ballad whose dreamy lyrics seem tailor made for her vocal talents, van Nuis never fails to support the melody's cadences with her range and endearing clarity...” -Jack Huntley, All About Jazz “The voice of van Nuis is effervescent, yet refined and classy. She can sound hopeful without being overly sweet, or serious with out any sense of manufactured drama. Van Nuis sings the lyrics as she feels they were intended to be sung, adding only the “salt” of her enthusiasm and the “pepper” of her charm. There is a sense of sincerity in every note that even that the most jaded of listeners could not fail to hear...” -Randy Freedman, Chicago Jazz Magazine “van Nuis has found a niche in presenting the songs of the bygone eras straight and allowing the melodies to hang relatively unadorned. The quaint and clean presentation is utterly charming: in this case it is hip to be square...” -Brad Walseth, Chicagojazz.net “Petra van Nuis has a sweet voice, a straightforward delivery, and tends to cut off notes quickly, a bit like Anita O' Day. One also hears touches of Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie, and Mildred Bailey in her phrasing but not in the sound of her voice which is distinctive.” -Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene “I have had the good fortune to play behind Petra many times. She is delicious to accompany; with her appealing musical personality and beguiling singing style, I find it truly refreshing to play piano for her. In a town loaded with singers, Petra stands out as an unusually intriguing interpreter of great material.” -Judy Roberts, Chicago Jazz Magazine