Deborah Latz

“The directness of Latz’s delivery is a matter of wised-up, mature consolation, the honesty of shared confidence.” - Jon Garelick

“Latz is the real deal and you ought to discover her.” - George Fendel

“Latz, singing at her peak...” - Marcia Hillman

“Latz displays the expressive depth and masterful interpretive skills that mark her as one of the most gifted singers of her generation.” - Steve Futterman

“Latz is emboldening her signature and making a splash, again!” - D. Oscar Groomes

“Deborah’s voice is enchanting! “sur l’instant” is my ‘go to’ album, I LOVE it!” - Louie B. Free

“...our singer is in very good voice, showing a subtle sense of swing with just the right amount of scat...” - Ann Alex

"Deborah has a clear voice and perfect pitch and when combined with her sensitivity and interpretive skills [on sur l'instant] makes her a major-league Jazz vocal star!" - Robert Nicosia

“Deborah Latz has one of those voices you could listen to for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. “Fig Tree” is her latest gift to the jazz world.” - Charles L. Latimer

“...indulge yourself with this fresh jazz voice. ...Ms. Latz is spot on.” - Patricia Herlevi

“She is accomplished in the fullest meaning of the word: highly trained, skillful, finished, complete, polished, refined, realized. Deborah Latz has something to say and she has the talent and the ability to say it.” - Steven A. Cerra

“Latz is right there among the higher echelon of jazz singers. She means it and you can hear it.” - George Fendel

“This stripped down arrangement [“Embraceable You”] highlights Latz’s heartfelt interpretation of the lyric, as well as the purity of her tone and fine vocal control.” - Debra M.

“From the opening track, Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” Deborah Latz makes clear that even the most familiar tunes are fair game for radical reinterpretation.” - Barry Bassis

“I haven’t heard this singer before, but I was impressed by this, her [Latz’] third album.
She has a distinctive voice, tremendous control and a wide range of dynamics..” - Peter Bevan

"...Latz takes it over the top giving hipsters a few lessons on what is really hip..." - Chris Spector

"As lucid as it is breathtaking, it is music of the sort that happens when the best companions get together." - Andrew Vélez

"Latz's approach to the standard material is fiercely unique..."   - C. Michael Bailey

"I am a fan of Fig Tree!" - Motema Music

“Deborah is a beautiful singer and a great talent. Fig Tree is wonderful. Really wonderful!” - 2012 NEA Jazz Master

“A sure-footed singer possessing a mature sound and an attractive, lived-in voice, Deborah Latz’ Toward Love explores a traditional set of popular standards with satisfying results. A swinging “It Had to Be You” sets the pace with the band providing great ballast for her vocal. What a treat it is to hear drummer Jimmy Wormworth motor the proceedings on brushes. The ability to imbue a song with honest emotion informs Latz’ forthright reading of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. Her touching reprise after Timo Elliston’s “How Insensitive” solo begins at near whisper…The performance is the epitome of classic chamberjazz swing, all hands working together, generating an irresistible rhythm which enhances Latz’ winning way with Cole Porter’s ode to love. Singer and band bring distinction to another gem from the great American songbook, “I Only Have Eyes for You”… Latz, more often than not, though, sings within herself; she is able to project her individual voice without obscuring the material. Sensitive interaction among the musicians, including guitarist Ben Sher and bassist Bob Bowen, contributes significantly to Toward Love’s success.”

- Andrew Rowan

“Deborah Latz offers a musical album of experiences and images that take the listener on a journey – haunting, spare, rambunctious, heartfelt… and deeply felt.”
- Laurence Donohue-Greene, Managing Editor

"Deborah Latz is a bold singer with a strong sense of her own musical identity. So sure-footed is she that it’s hard to imagine her needing a lifeline - she’s more the type to throw one to the sinking." - Suzanne Lorge

“…right from the vocalese opening of “Had To Be,” Ms. Latz offers a nicely centered soprano voice, with a sensibility that incites a lyric with her innate dramatic instincts. Her “Bewitched” strikes just the right note of coy mischievousness, and—God Bless her!!—she opens it with the verse—“He’s a fool and don’t I know it/but a fool can have his charms.” If her “Lover Man” doesn’t have the earthy resignation of Billie’s demimondaine, she has managed to recast it and make it a convincing tale of a Bryn Mawr graduate’s rude awakening to love’s dirty linen. “Avril” opens with very effective Latz French parlando set against the rhythm team’s spiky swing, and ends with her exuberant all-stops-out vocalizing, still in French. Both “Gone” and “Eyes” swing handily, with Ms. Latz demonstrating her scat chops on the former. …she nails the nasty realization that “The Thrill Is Gone” perfectly. The rhythm team is steady and sturdy throughout, each member credited with contributing to the recital’s arrangements, and it’s clear…that this is a case of vocalist and rhythm section occupying the same artistic time and space.”

- Alan Bargebuhr

“Deborah [Latz] has one of the BEST new voices I've heard in a LONG time. Her phrasing and unique style is simply... elegant and versatile and
spunky!”

- Jan Jenson

"They say that love makes the world go around. I don't know about that, but it's made for some great songs, tunes that vocalist Deborah Latz goes after with gusto on her debut disc, Toward Love.
On the classic “Loverman,” where Billie Holiday sounded fragile and deeply hurt—where Carmen McRae gave us a wounded, world weary mood—Latz evokes a hopeful innocence, as though she believes it will happen, that loverman will show up. The vocalist demonstrates some downtempo sass on Rodgers and Hart's “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” this listener's highlight. Her voice rings with a fetching richness here, with Bob Bowen's bass caressing her syllables. And do I detect a hint of tongue in cheek? I'm not sure. The lyric is—by today's perspective on romance—wonderfully sappy; and Deborah Latz pulls it off with grace and straightahead beauty.
On “Avril a Paris” Latz shows us she can sing a lyric in French with aplomb; pianist Timo Elliston works a percussive mode, nailing down the rhythm behind the mellifluous flow of language. “Night and Day” has the vocalist entering the scene with a coy hush in her voice, a softly feminine Tony Bennett-like rasp in front of Ben Sher's piquant guitar lines.
A marvelous vocal effort, beginning to end. I'm bewitched."
- Dan McClenaghan

“Ms. Latz has such flawless control of her fluid soprano that she is able to weave melodic variations on songs such as “Get Along,” “Sounds,”; and-yes!-even “Favorite Things,” and do so with such incredibly natural ease...” - Alan Bargebuhr

"Deborah Latz... is a seasoned veteran when it comes to creative expression and musical performance...There is an undeniably unique quality to Latz’ approach to jazz standards..." - Dave Miele

“When it comes to singing at very slow tempos, few are in Deborah Latz’s league... She knows just how to take her time... Lifeline is a gem well worth hearing several times.” - Scott Yanow

"[on] the swinging Witchcraft...Latz belts out the lyrics in a fashion that The Chairman of the Board would be proud of." - Edward Blanco

“Ms. Latz has such flawless control of her fluid soprano that she is able to weave melodic variations on songs such as “Get Along,” “Sounds,”; and-yes!-even “Favorite Things,” and do so with such incredibly natural ease...” - Alan Bargebuhr

“After hearing the opening cut, which features tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, I wondered how she could top it. But she did. Deborah’s singing of “My Favorite Things” is in the same class as John Coltrane’s instrumental version of the same composition. I hadn’t heard this lady until I played ‘Lifeline,’ but I’m now an ardent fan.”
- Steve Emerine

“Deborah Latz covers a startling range of moods and emotions… [the three songs done in French] are instantly romantic aphrodisiacs. Pleasure upon multiple pleasure!”
- Bob Morello

“She is one of those relatively few singers who expresses the emotion of the lyric with style and sensitivity.”
- George Fendel

“...Latz’s poignant vocals pull everything together. She draws out the melodies, making each note count, and may be one of the finest balladeers in some time.”
- Kyle O’Brien

“‘Lifeline’ is destined to be one of those eternal gemstones in jazz music’s archives...”
- Susan Frances

“Latz knows how to deliver the songs with a different slant... jazz vocal fans have a new star to celebrate.” - Chris Spector

“…Latz is the real thing. She swings, phrases well and any liberties taken are done with respect for the lyrics.” - Ray Comiskey

“...jazz is clearly her first tongue... she wraps you in the deep, rich tones that come lilting from her so easily...it was her original, “Jump In” that turned out to be my favorite cut... It is just vibrant, full of life and lyrically about as jazzy as I’ve heard in the last 5 years from a female jazz singer.” - Rotcod Zzaj

"Toward Love is a fabulous album. I love it!" - Dominick Dunne

“…Miss Latz is a passionate songstress... a delicate and intelligent style... Enough said, we have found a jazz vocalist of the highest quality...” - Eric Boisson

“She [Deborah Latz] will be able to arouse that special feeling in the listener that he is hearing something familiar, yet at the same time, something entirely new and unknown.” - Mate J. Gyorgy