THORNETTA DAVIS DETROIT’S QUEEN OF THE BLUES
 2017 BLUES MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE

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And the Night Shall be Filled with Music
Posted by KAREN DYBIS Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 10:55 am
3 Comments • Trackback (1) • Related Topics: art and artists detroit , barbara barefield, music in homes, palmer woods, spencer barefield, thornetta davis

Picture this: Motor City Blues Queen Thornetta Davis singing to an intimate group inside one of Detroit's most regal homes.

She sways to the beat, her energy growing with the audience's obvious enjoyment. The crowd, all of about 130 people, is quiet, respectful, adoring. Blues in an Old English Castle off of Woodward Avenue? It never sounded better.



Read more: http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2010/01/14/and-the-night-shall-be-filled-with-music/#ixzz1GbUWkce9 - THE DETROIT BLOG

There aren't many better ways to shed the end-of-winter, mud-season blues than to groove out with Detroit's Thornetta Davis. Her voice, generous and strong, flowed over the River City Blues Festival crowd, warming, satisfying, and uplifting listeners during her Saturday matinee show. Fans surrendered to Davis' seductive allure in the hazy dark of the ballroom of the Lafayette Hotel, a historic landmark that stands at the edge of the wide, rolling Ohio River.

Davis and her band, guitarist Paul Carey, keyboardist Phil Hale, and drummer Dave Marcaccio, created an irresistible energy that swept the audience to its feet. Keeping her promise that "our mission is to make you feel good," she regaled the crowd with favorites such as "Muddy Water," blues prayer "Someone To Love," and a funky reggae cover of "Piece of My Heart." One especially satisfying original song from her latest album had the audience responding to Davis' "What do you need?" query with a resounding chorus of "a whole lotta love!"

Her charming smile, expansive voice, and gifted backing musicians proved a righteous combination. Her trio of guitar, organ, and drums embodied the notion that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts: The band came together to play with complete ease, rolling out a tight gospel-blues sound highlighted by a cover of "Damn Your Eyes," a late-Eighties Etta James obscurity that peaked with all hands and glasses raised in the air. Closing the set with "Black Drawers," Davis and her musicians delivered a crashing wave of sound so genuine and full that festival attendees wished they did have their black drawers on. Regardless of their choice of attire, the crowd accepted Davis' infectious invitation to let go of its daily drags, to get swept up in sound, and to float away on the buoy that is the blues.

by Za Connor - Blues Revue Magazine - June/July 2008 edition - BLUES REVUE MAGAZINE

Thornetta Davis can sing R&B, soul, rock & alternative, but it is the blues Thornetta deals with in this her first live CD. Covered Live is a musical snapshot of the usual high-energy show at the Music Menu Cafe in downtown Detroit. This is lady T's gift to her many fans, a slice of a live performance with all the favorites like Black Drawers, Muddy Water, & Damn Your Eyes. After over twenty Motor City Music Awards, there is no doubt Thornetta stands today as Detroit's most loved and respected female vocalist. No one can match the smooth power of her voice or her over all soul. Detroiter's know that on Wednesday nights there is only one place to be, at the Music Menu with Thornetta. This CD is musical proof.

RJ Spangler - Big City Blues Magazine - BIG CITY BLUES MAGAZINE

Covered Live At The Music Menu - Sweet Mama Music - ***1/2

If you know about Thornetta, then, well, you know. Right? There really isn't much else that can be said about her voice that your ears won't tell you. Although capable of singing in a fairly wide variety of musical styles, there's no doubting that the blues (and its close musical cousin, gospel) is where Thornetta's voice is most at home and most able to demonstrate her full range of musical emotions, colors and tones.

Recorded live at the Music Menu in Greektown - which currently serves as Thornetta's musical home - this CD gives the uninitiated listener a good idea of what all the fuss is about. Although it's hard to imagine that there are any blues lovers left in the Detroit area who don't already know and haven't already heard, it's still good for this live performance to be on record as proof that she is one of Detroit's finest vocalists.

But it wouldn't be fair to wrap this up without giving the band its propers. In a nutshell, this is a tight and extremely talented crew. Individually and as a unit these cats deliver the kind of thick, funky blues rhythm that best complements Thornetta's strong, clear, penetrating voice. Both organist Phil Hale and guitarist Brett Lucas could easily cut loose and burn the house down on their own any time they wanted. But their professionalism and maturity shows through in their willingness and ability to rein themselves in where necessary and focus their skills on helping the lady shine, and that's more than commendable. The drummer, Todd Glass, and bassman Gary Jibilian have the rhythm held down under lock and key. If you haven't heard, then hear this.

Keith A. Owens - Metrotimes - metro detroit's news, arts & culture weekly - - METROTIMES

October 04, 2001

Thornetta Davis
By David Whiteis

Thornetta Davis honed her chops on Detroit's blues circuit in the mid-80s, but she made her recorded debut on the legendary Seattle indie label Sub Pop. After singing on the first two discs by Detroit funk rockers Big Chief, in 1991 and '92, she signed on under her own name, and in '96 released her first solo album, Sunday Morning Music, written and performed with several members of Big Chief. The ten originals were refreshingly economical--ranging from gospel-inflected ballads to tough blues rock to gritty social commentary--that kept the focus on her strong and versatile voice. But the new independently produced Covered Live at the Music Menu, a set of the singer's favorite R & B covers, showcases her vocal talents just as well, if not better. She can dart up into the daunting coloratura range and descend into a deep, throaty alto murmur with no loss of power, and her impeccable diction and rock-solid swing bring a sophisticated theatricality to breezy shuffles like "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" and "Meet Me With Your Black Drawers On." On Ida Cox's classic bad-girl paean "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues," her tone hardens into a jubilant badass rasp, and she makes even her bravest moves--multioctave jumps, modulating from a sexy purr to a spitfire wail, rapidly skittering melismatas--with disarming ease. But the disc's most spellbinding moment--which could transform this gig into something approximating a religious experience--is her churchy reading of Percy Mayfield's prayer for world peace, "Please Send Me Someone to Love." The tender intensity with which she caresses Mayfield's lyrics ("Unless man puts an end to this damnable sin / Hate will put the world in flame") should send shivers down every spine in the house. - CHICAGO READER

Fine weather, music a treat, but crowds sparse first day
[Chicago Final Edition]
Chicago Tribune - Chicago, Ill.
Author: Andy Downing, Special to the Tribune
Date: Jun 10, 2006

Abstract (Document Summary)
Better was a slow-burning set by Blues Fest veteran Larry McCray. The 46-year-old, while a relative young'un on the blues circuit, has been appearing off and on at the Fest since 1986. Backed by a four- piece band, the guitarist hinted at Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman in his controlled, almost genial, solos. The set's high point was a sultry duet with [Thornetta Davis], fresh off her own sizzling afternoon performance, the two singers exchanging catcalls on Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You." - CHICAGO TRIBUNE-ANDY DOWNING

BY VIC DOUCETTE

Style and substance. Grit and grace. Wails and whispers. Control and abandon. I could use hundreds of words to describe the incredible voice of Thornetta Davis, but it’s almost impossible to translate just how great she sounds. Long a fixture on D-town’s blues scene, Thorny’s got the kind of pipes that make other singers just plain jealous; nobody in their right mind would want to follow her on the bill. Everybody knows there’s no justice in the music business. But if there were, Thornetta Davis would be at least as famous — and as rich — as another Motown woman who’s earned R-E-S-P-E-C-T around the world. Think I’m exaggerating? All you have to do is catch her show most any night of the week at any of the finer joints in town. Pick up one of her CDs while you’re at it. Listen, and then tell me she ain’t the best damn singer in Detroit. - METROTIMES DETROIT