SHEENA DAVIS

Sheena has won a huge following across the length and breadth of the country and has been described as "already one of the best jazz vocalists the UK has produced" (Don Mather, Music Web, April 2001). Known for her extremely powerful voice (all the more amazing as Sheena is tiny), her sparky performances and unique choice of songs, she always sends the audience home with a smile. Sheena's talent was recognised nationally when she was featured in the Daily Express having won the prestigious "Tomorrow's People Award ". Hosted by British Gas and The Daily Express, the award "honours individuals who excel in their chosen fields".

Sheena grew up in Shropshire, near Wales and came to music at a very early age having begun to play the piano by ear before she was three years old. Both her parent's are amateur musicians, her mother a cellist and her father a classical guitarist. At school she won several talent competitions and at the age of seven, one of her compositions came runner up on the local television news "Christmas carol competition". Once Sheena left school she joined a couple of local bands playing keyboards and singing backing vocals, but, without any intention, was soon lead singer. This led to an introduction to jazz when she joined the Hereford Big Band as it's first vocalist and another local jazz group with whom she was spotted at the Brecon Jazz Festival 1994 by an associate of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. She moved down to London and became the orchestra's lead singer where she was regarded by it's musical director, Bill Ashton M.B.E. as not only "clearly one of the quickest studies of any singer who has ever worked with the band", but also "the finest all round singer ever to perform with the band". Sheena toured all over Britain with NYJO and performed several times at the famous jazz venue - Ronnie Scott's. She is also featured on 4 of NYJO's albums.

At the end of 1997, Sheena left the band and after a year or so formed her own group with her now husband/bassist Robert Rickenberg. The group is now a regular feature on the London jazz & swing scene appearing at the 100 Club, 606 Club, Pizza on the Park, Ronnie Scott's and Smollensky's on the Strand. The group has appeared at a host of other UK clubs and jazz festivals including Brecon, Marlborough, Birmingham, Coventry & Canterbury. In January 2002, the group performed at two sell out concerts in Cyprus, as guests of the Music & Fine Arts Fund of Cyprus & the Cypriot Government. Sheena's debut album 'Smile' was released in May 2001 on Jazzizit Records, a label that hosts a number of Britain's best known jazz artists such as Stan Tracey, Bobby Wellins, Gary Potter, Trudy Kerr & Martin Drew. As well as becoming one of Jazzizit's biggest selling albums it has received numerous rave reviews and a lot of radio support both regionally and nationally including Jazz FM (Campbell Burnap, Peter Young, Sarah Ward, Paul Jones) and Radio 2 (Michael Parkinson & Humphrey Lyttleton). The album can even be heard on in-flight radio on several airlines including Alitalia, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Sri Lankan Airways.

The few years have seen the group tour extensively throughout the country promoting 'Smile'.

" A superb singer singing superb songs"
- Richard Niles, BBC Radio 2

" We have a national treasure in Sheena and her band"
- Bob Caldwell, Coventry Evening Telegraph

" If you get a chance to hear Sheena live, don't miss her - she really is a find"
- Jazz at Ronnie Scott's magazine