The Kendra Shank Quartet - Mosaic

Available April 14 on Challenge Records

Featuring Frank Kimbrough, Dean Johnson, Tony Moreno, with special guests Billy Drewes and Ben Monder

A jazz vocalist that has been described by The Village Voice as "entrancing", and hailed by The New York Times as an artist with "Effervescence, depth" and "integrity", Kendra Shank reveals her most personal recording to date, Mosaic (April 14 on Challenge Records).

Mosaic features a compelling book of songs from a diverse group of composers, from Carole King to Irving Berlin, with originals by Kimbrough and Shank; all of the music unified by the highly unique approach this quartet takes in allowing the music to unfold with joy, curiosity and spontaneity, eschewing rigid arrangements. The Kendra Shank Quartet is a working band that achieves a level of interaction, interplay and expressiveness unparalleled in the world of jazz vocalists.

Mosaic reflects Kendra's experiences, relationships, stories, emotions and personality, in music and in life. From her early acting career to her singer/guitarist years in the cafes and clubs of Seattle; from the streets and subways of Paris to the most prestigious venues in New York City and around the world, Kendra Shank brilliantly "embodies all that a true jazz singer once was and is now."-Tom Terrell, JAZZTIMES

"Kendra Shank's delectable voice--warm-toned, fine-grained, quietly sexy--sets her well apart from the crowd, as does her knack for picking unhackneyed, slightly off-center material. The up-tempo tunes swing hard; the ballads shimmer and shine. Get in on the ground floor: this lady is going up." - Terry Teachout, TIME

"This vocalist makes lyrics believable, invents like an instrumentalist, and has an ear second to none for little-known and unknown tunes. ...Shank is that rarity among jazz vocalists, a risk taker who stays in tune. Her voice is dark and haunting, and she prefers subtle variations to overly demonstrative embellishments. She also functions like a true equal with her excellent rhythm section..." - Bob Blumenthal, THE BOSTON GLOBE