Mbop's Verona Chard to Give Jazz Fans Fever

London, United Kingdom, May 12, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Signed to Vamp Jazz Records and promoted by Mbop, five years after making her professional debut with the late, great British jazz lynchpin Humphrey Lyttelton, vocalist Verona Chard has wrapped her sultry tones around a clutch of classic compositions on her own offering, Fever, due for release on July 21.

Inspired by the music of another of the nation’s great jazz stalwarts, John Dankworth - and his 1964 release Shakespeare and All That Jazz - the West Country chanteuse set about selecting a set of songs she could re-work herself. On the musical adventure, the former Royal Academy of Music student said: “It set me thinking that there must be a wealth of material to explore and I wasn’t disappointed.”

Suitably inspired, Fever saw her joined by a cluster of renowned musicians, including the award-winning saxophonist Alan Barnes and harpist Fiona Clifton-Welker as they breathed new life into the work of Elton John, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim plus Lyttelton and Dankworth themselves. From her sensual, yet melancholy take on the Peggy Lee title track, which has been played on UK Jazz Radio, to Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate standard Why Can’t You Behave? - it’s an eclectic mix, expertly handled.

Available from Amazon, play.com, direct from the www.veronachard.com plus major outlets, Fever will be launched at Chelsea’s 606 Jazz Club on July 21, before Verona takes to the road for an 11-date UK tour:

Wednesday 21 July: CD launch – 606 Jazz Club, Chelsea 7.30pm
Friday 27 August: The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh 2.00pm
Saturday 28 August: The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh 2.00pm
Sunday 29 August: The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh 2.00pm
Thursday 9 September: Café Chai, London - Ealing 8.00pm
Friday 10 September: The cornerHOUSE, Surbiton 8.00pm
Saturday 18 September: The Old Joint Stock, Birmingham 7.30pm
Sunday 19 September: VoiceBoxUK, Derby (+ day workshop) 8.00pm
Friday 24 September: The Library Theatre, Luton 2.00pm and 7.45pm
Thursday 30 September: St James’ Wine Vaults, Bath 7.45pm
Friday 1 October: The Bear Hotel, Devizes 9.00pm
Saturday 9 October: Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham by Sea 8.00pm.

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