DEANNA VICTORIA
& HER JAZZY GENTLEMEN
The Perfect Combination for a Distinguished Ensemble
Ella had her "Fellas," and DeAnna has her "Gentlemen." DeAnna Victoria & Her Jazzy Gentlemen create a nostalgic and enchanting atmosphere which revels the authentic and timeless elements of classic Jazz, interwoven with their own distinctive nuances. Their modern-day approach to the Great American Songbook will entrance you! Guests in the audiences of their performances are often in awe, at how DeAnna Victoria can possibly 'nail' tune after tune, singing the same 'vintage Jazz' that vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Carmen McCrae and Billy Eckstine 'nailed' during their very own careers!
DeAnna Victoria & Her Jazzy Gentlemen is comprised of pianist Phil Lesky, bassist Ibrahim Jones, and drummer Bang Glenn. When DeAnna Victoria asked her bandleader Benjamin Pruit, Sr. of Ben's Friends Jazz Orchestra - of which she had been a member for 16 years, to join her band, he accepted and was featured on Alto Sax, for close to three years! She was ecstatic and honored to have him as one of her Jazzy Gentlemen. Ben even put together a collection of the lead sheets that DeAnna Victoria had given him over the years, and created his own "Alto Sax" songbook! He even affixed her portrait on the front! Ben's son, famed saxophonist, composer and bandleader Skip Pruitt was gracious enough to ensure that DeAnna Victoria acquired the songbook after Ben's passing in 2017.
Other notable musicians that have performed with DeAnna Victoria in her ensemble include bassists Don Mayberry, Josef Deas, Keith Malinowski, Shannon Wade, Kerry Lacey, and Greg Cook. Pianists Tad Weed, Sven Anderson, Roger Jones II, Gary Schunk, Mark McGruder, Stefan Kukurugya and Pamela Wise. Drummers George Davidson, Spider Webb, James Robinson, Milton Hale, Butter Hawkins, Andre Wright, Brandon Williams, Jonathan Blanchette, Henry Connerway III, and Eric Joe. Saxophonists De'Sean Jones and Kasan Belgrave, trumpeter David Green, trombonist Kenneth Gill, and percussionist T. Pablo Lowman.
These photos of DeAnna Victoria & Her Jazzy Gentlemen, exude the caliber of classy and elegant professionalism that is revealed to her audience during each and every performance. Enjoy!
