'“In an era where much of contemporary jazz vocalism leans toward polish, revivalism, or conceptual framing, Daphne Roubini arrives with something stranger, less easily categorized, and ultimately more intriguing…Whisky Scented Kisses does not simply revisit the past; it bends it, refracts it, and occasionally unsettles it.”
– Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move, France ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [Read full review]
“In a crowded field of vocal jazz releases, Whisky Scented Kisses earns its place easily. Roubini’s voice will grab you, the understated musicianship and Pigat’s arrangements make it as comfortable at a dinner party as it is under a pair of headphones”
–Tim Larsen, Jazz Views, UK [Read full review]
”This vocalist and her Black Gardenia group have capsulized old elegance and traditional jazz in a package of carefully picked repertoire and selective original music. Led by Daphne Roubini’s infectious vocals, this is a sound you won’t soon forget.”
–Dee Dee Mc Neil, Making a Scene, US [Read full article]
“…creates a mood that is reminiscent of those vintage early Billie Holiday sessions with Teddy Wilson and Lester Young-casual, intimate and irresistibly swinging with subtlety. Where’s she been hiding?” — ***Ringer of the week***
–George,W Harris, Jazz Weekly, US [Read full review]
“Fronted by stylish vocalist Daphne Roubini, Black Gardenia updates the vocal jazz sounds of the 1940s and 1950s with swinging heart.”
–Stuart Derdeyn, The Vancouver Sun, Canada [pick of March concerts]
“Daphne Roubini's expressive, velvety vocals, perfectly embedded in classic jazz phrasing, with a natural sense of space and time and a remarkable subtlety of delivery, sustain the strength of her sound and style. Black Gardenia balances timeless vocal narrative with subtle, spacious arrangements, allowing each song to unfold with elegance and restraint.”
– Dionizy Piątkowski, Era Jazzu, Poland [Read full article]
”’Whisky Scented Kisses’ is a beautiful album, elegant, calm and delicate, that invites us to reflect.”
– José Ramon, La habitación del jazz, Spain [Read full article]
"While we can no longer hear new music from mid-20th-century jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday, this album from Vancouver, Canada–based Daphne Roubini and her five-member band is the next best thing…
-Jeff Burger, Americana Highways, US [Read full review]
“With Black Gardenia, one of the most recognizable ensembles on the Canadian scene, Roubini sings ‘Whiskey Scented Kisses’, a record that is in the wake of classic vocal jazz but carefully avoids the trap of sterile nostalgia. Here you can breathe the echo of the 40s and 50s. But it's not imitation. It's assimilation.”
– Jazz in the family, Italy [Read full article]
”Whisky Scented Kisses, … sounds like a 21st-century take on midcentury small-combo jazz, with Roubini’s smoky but smooth after-hours crooning"
–John Lucas, Stir Magazine, Canada [Read full -feature- article]
”Like the last note that lingers in the air of a half-empty room or the last sip of whiskey clinging to the base of the glass after last call, 'Whisky Scented Kisses' finds a way to leave its mark on you and at the same time burrows into the dichotomy of intimacy and isolation at the heart of jazz.”
–Imran Mirza, Blue in Green Radio, UK [Read full article]
A gritty, sultry voice… reviving vocal jazz with original compositions… a sound that lingers like the scent of a good whiskey.” [Read full article]
– Maxazine, Netherlands
”Beginning with the sublime, melancholic Minor Mood, the album brings Roubini’s mellifluous vocals together with an impressive ensemble.”
– Hilary Seabrook, UK music blog
“I don’t know what it is exactly but I am captivated when Roubini steps up to the microphone.”
— Cory Weeds, Cellar Music, Canada/US
“Evocative, retro yet cheekily modern.”
— Georgia Mancio, ReVoice! Festival, UK
“Roubini’s originals are indistinguishable among the stacked line-up.”
— Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight, Canada
“Daphne Roubini's original tunes bring to mind Django Reinhardt’s Gypsy Jazz with Billie Holiday as vocalist”.
— Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun, Canada
Past Reviews
Fresh and Local | Georgia Straight | Mike Usinger
"Black Gardenia's sophomore effort is built on a brave idea. Mixing jazz and blues standards with a number of original tracks, the record could have easily been a mismatch of quality. Band leader Daphne Roubini, however, makes sure that's not a possibility. Lending her Billie Holiday-esque lilt to classics like T-Bone Walker's gruff 'I'm just waiting' for your call" and adding a folk twist to "You'd be so nice to come home to", Roubini expertly ties the covers together with her rich velvety vocals. Transporting listeners back to a time of martinis, lounge suits, and hazy cigarette smoke. all with an audio clarity that eludes remastered editions of jazz classics. Black Gardenia offers authoritative modern versions of those staples. The fact that Roubini's originals are indistinguishable among the stacked line-up is the biggest compliment of all."
Liner Notes | Lucky Star | Chris Davis
(trumpeter player with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Late show)
“The obvious or expected comparison to Blossom Dearie and Billie Holiday come to mind upon hearing the voice of Black Gardenia leader and singer Daphne Roubini. Those comparisons are rightly justified. However, I graciously maintain that the mysteriously hazy hue, the clear diction, the subtle occasional British/American twang, and spine-tingling manipulation of the bended pitches are all qualities in Daphne’s voice that are unparalleled by any other singer.
I feel like “Sweet's” Edison or Lester Young when I play behind Daphne. It’s been amazing to learn how to back her, and also see the growth in each of us. I feel like I’ve adjusted to her over the years in order to create our own very organic, honest, interactive, musical presentation. The warmth in Daphne’s voice is like sipping a single malt with an old friend in front of a crackling fireplace. But there are also moments when her whispering breathy treatment of a melody draws you in close, as if what she’s sharing is a secret with you alone, or like she is singing your favourite sweetest lullaby that you’ve never heard of. Daphne has become one of my favourite singers to play with in the world.”
Black Gardenia: Lucky Star | Stuart Derdeyn
(The Province, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, The Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Herald, and Regina Leader.)
“Mining the music of an era that just keeps on delivering, Vancouver quintet Black Gardenia features the marvellously jazzy vocals of singer/ukulele ace Daphne Roubini and her life partner guitarist Andrew Smith leading an A-team of local players through less-familiar tunes from the canon by the likes of T-Bone Walker (I’m Just Waitin’ for Your Call) or Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington (The Nearness of You), as well as a few originals. Where many groups that mine this well can be too reverential, this group manages to show respect for the music without being too reverent. Roubini has a lovely Jo Stafford-esque set of pipes and with the combined guitar skills of Smith, Cousin Harley’s Paul Pigat, Stephen Nikleva and Jimmy Roy (Petunia and the Vipers), as well as violinist Cameron Wilson and bassist Brent Gubbels (Van Django) and Patrick Metzger, the group is assured lots of swinging interplay. But the one who really gives the material the extra oomph is trumpeter Chris Davis whose inspired and subtle blowing just colours the set with the kind of warm quality that makes you want a good cocktail, an intimate cabaret and a tux. Classy sounding stuff.”
KBUT Music Director Bonnie Gollhoffer | Big Band/Swing
”Black Gardenia Lucky Star – A blissful rendering of gypsy jazz, folk, blues and the great vocal standards of bygone days.”
Midwest Record | Chris Spector
”BLACK GARDENIA/Lucky Star: Here we find what it would have sounded like if prime Billie Holiday hooked up with the Hot Club for a one off that wound up setting the sky on fire. An utterly smoking journey through a past that never was, this is how you polish a stone into a gem. Killer stuff throughout”.