WHAT THEY ARE SAYING......
“Vocalist Valerie Stephens gave a full house at the Gallery at the Piano Craft Building a sensational night of all Nina Simone songs. She ascended the pianist/singer's peaks of lyricism, and at other times Stephens got down with the fury of a Nina Simone outraged by the cruelties and injustice of racist America. Stephens...was as comfortable with Bess's confessional "Porgy," a jazz classic from Gershwin, as with the Bessie Smith standard "Sugar in My Bowl." Simone was very much the griot as amply evidenced in original compositions such as "Four Women… Stephens' interpretation binds her to Nina Simone. Stephens sang the bubbly "My Baby Just Cares For Me" as exquisitely as Bobby Short at the Carlyle. What a rare night in annals of Boston jazz!”
KBAR Review
“The song was "Black Coffee.'' Sarah Vaughan had her version and so did Ella Fitzgerald. But the way Stephens sang it, the words became a down-and-dirty sermon, an almost defiant battle against universally shared misery. “ Boston Herald
“Singer-actress Valerie Stephens gives sensational evidence that divas are still in the making. She steps, stomps and sashays … “
Bay State Banner
“Valerie Stephens knows how to take over a room”
Boston Globe
“Stephens…always an innovative performer”
Sojourner
“… That night’s diva performance came from the marvelous singer Valerie Stephens She’s a bluesy jazz singer or a jazzy blues singer – you take your pick. Either way, there’s no one like her, from her seductively raucous laugh to her pointed musical lessons in living and loving.”
EdgeBoston
“One of the highlights of the Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park performance series in Franklin Park has been the eclectic music and resonant voice of Valerie Stephens… Her range and talent awes the audience. Valerie is the quintessential performer. She is so funny and so thoughtful, all in the same show. Her energy and her voice radiate over the park landscape.”
Franklin Park Coalition
Les Zygomates w/Chris Stovall Brown – “What a gas! Blues, baby. All night long …And this chick, Valerie Stephens, whom I didn't know, came up and sang Fever like you never heard, then belted a shuffle that made me want to drop my net and follow. Wow. Great stuff.
John Troy, Blues Legend Blog
KBAR Review
“The song was "Black Coffee.'' Sarah Vaughan had her version and so did Ella Fitzgerald. But the way Stephens sang it, the words became a down-and-dirty sermon, an almost defiant battle against universally shared misery. “ Boston Herald
“Singer-actress Valerie Stephens gives sensational evidence that divas are still in the making. She steps, stomps and sashays … “
Bay State Banner
“Valerie Stephens knows how to take over a room”
Boston Globe
“Stephens…always an innovative performer”
Sojourner
“… That night’s diva performance came from the marvelous singer Valerie Stephens She’s a bluesy jazz singer or a jazzy blues singer – you take your pick. Either way, there’s no one like her, from her seductively raucous laugh to her pointed musical lessons in living and loving.”
EdgeBoston
“One of the highlights of the Elma Lewis Playhouse in the Park performance series in Franklin Park has been the eclectic music and resonant voice of Valerie Stephens… Her range and talent awes the audience. Valerie is the quintessential performer. She is so funny and so thoughtful, all in the same show. Her energy and her voice radiate over the park landscape.”
Franklin Park Coalition
Les Zygomates w/Chris Stovall Brown – “What a gas! Blues, baby. All night long …And this chick, Valerie Stephens, whom I didn't know, came up and sang Fever like you never heard, then belted a shuffle that made me want to drop my net and follow. Wow. Great stuff.
John Troy, Blues Legend Blog
