BECCA STEVENS
"Sensual and sophisticated Pop"
Jazz Magazine, April 2020
"Glamourous…semi-electric pop Prince might approve of"
Mail On Sunday, 4 star review, April 2020
"An eclectic potpourri blending folky concessions with angsty alt rock and even 80s-style techno-funk"
Record Collector, 4 star review, March 2020
Winner of “Best Rising-Star Female Vocalist 2017”
Downbeat Magazine, June 2017
“Becca Stevens’ Regina is the most spectacular of the albums… it is a fully realized, rapturous meditation on queens in history, myth, literature and her own fertile imagination; Regina is also Stevens’ muse and alter ego. …Stevens has produced a complex, densely layered studio album with allusive songs that are alternately dreamy and spine-tingling.”
Downbeat Magazine, 5 star review, Regina, March 2017
“It’s a rich tapestry on which to work, and Stevens does so with aplomb, playing an array of stringed instruments, singing her own backing vocals, letting her luxurious voice curl around lyrics inspired by history and literature; the single Queen Mab, a take on Shakespeare’s fairy midwife, is dizzying, ye olde fabulous.”
The Evening Standard, 4 star review, Regina, March 2017
“For three albums Becca Stevens has fashioned an idiosyncratic, complex world which nods to mavericks such as Joanna Newsom and Enya. On her fourth… she’s layered her vocals more than ever and covers Stevie Wonder’s As with the right balance of reverence and impishness.”
Throughout, Stevens pushes boundaries without losing her glee or discipline”
Q Magazine, 4 star review, Regina, March 2017
“Stevens has a beautifully nuanced vocal style, a delicate yet strongly assured delivery rooted in an open, broad, range which is very much her own, with the mildest of echoes of one of her heroines, Joni Mitchell, that also carries through to her guitar work, and with whose Help Me she encored. ”
London Jazz News, November 2017, Ronnie Scott’s performance
“In the league of current female singer-songwriters, Stevens sits atop with a clear 15-point lead; her live performances (…) are simply among the best shows you will catch anywhere on the planet.”
Ticketmaster, July 2017
“Uber talented singer songwriter who abolishes genre frontiers.”
Culture Box France, July 2017
“Regina is an artistic, intellectual and feminist approach which reminds us very much of Tori Amos of whom Stevens admits to being a big fan. …Majestic, delicate pop arrangements in perfect harmony with the royal theme.”
Rolling Stone (France), June 2017
“…the New York Siren’s fourth and most impressive album to date, Regina.”
Mojo, March 2017
“Becca Stevens’ music breathes the way a Mingus bass line breathes. It’s pliant like Ella Fitzgerald without having any of the trappings of jazz from 50 years ago.”
Popmatters
“Her musical styles mix to make Stevens an attractive and eclectic whole… if you have the chance this summer, go and listen to this special band.”
Draai om ke oren, June 2017
“Stevens shows how innovative, historically informed, multi-genre music making can also be addictively, thrillingly enjoyable. Catch her when you can.”
The Arts Desk *****
“At times resembling a more folk-tinged St. Vincent, Stevens offers richly twisted originals alongside covers of Frank Ocean, Usher and Steve Winwood.”
Los Angeles Times
“[‘Imperfect Animals’ is] an intimate rumination on our inability to be everything to everyone, all the time…the song’s jagged edges — low, scratchy guitars, jerky time signatures — complement the complicated ideals and realities she’s grappling with… Evoking similarly hybrid artists like Buke and Gase and Ani DiFranco.”
Wondering Sound
“Great arrangements. Deeply compelling songs. Could she be the new Joni? That’s the well from which she springs. ”
San Jose Mercury News
“A vocalist and guitarist who balances deep melody against lyrical caprice… New York’s best kept secret.”
New York Times
“Brilliant, catchy… Intimate, ruminative, jagged-edged originals with jouncy time signatures, rich with harmony and melody.”
Downbeat
“Stevens fashions a sound all her own with airy, brook-clear songs equally touched by jazz sophistication and homespun folk charm.”
Time Out New York
“Shades of Laura Nyro in this lissome collaboration.”
NPR Music [on Ambrose Akinmusire feat. Becca Stevens, “Our Basement (Ed)”]
“Addicting is too light a word. Especially when you consider Becca Stevens’ top-shelf vocal performance….Better yet is how breathy her delivery continues to be from verse to chorus, an ambiguous facilitator for the obsessively conflicted emotions the song embodies. Turn this on, close your eyes, and feel the sounds paralyze your soul.”
PopMatters [on Ambrose Akinmusire feat. Becca Stevens, “Our Basement (Ed)”]
“One of those rare albums that can bring you to tears. Stevens’ voice is seemingly capable of anything she’d like it to do, and she has put together a band that more than does service to her songs.”
NextBop
“This is a vocalist and bandleader with command to spare, a flair for making savvy, split-second decisions, pulling tricky changes out of the air, and crafting arrangements that appear simple on the surface but reveal true sophistication with each successive listen.”
All Music Guide
“Stevens’ singing is remarkable, soulful, pitch-perfect and subtle in its controlled acrobatics. The arrangements are exquisitely produced, and her acoustic songs boast musical textures and colors that embrace the adventurism of jazz.”
The Winston-Salem Journal
“With their ability their exquisite arrangements, gorgeous vocal harmonies and an ability to make the bar line disappear, the Becca Stevens Band stole a lot of heart.”
Jazzwize Magazine
“Stevens moves confidently from jazz and pop to folk and beyond, doing so in a blending of instrumental and vocal timbres that identify her as one of the most musically adventurous vocal artists of her generation.”
Don Heckman
“Fully satiating. That is the least I can say about a Becca Stevens listening experience. Her songwriting, voice, and lyrics are like a cool bubbling brook freshening the brine of all the music you’ve ever heard.”
Esperanza Spalding
“Becca is one of the best musicians I know. She’s a great songwriter…it’s like listening to Stereolab. The vocals are straight and clean yet also have a modern vibe. I think Becca is destined for greatness.”
José James
“Stevens is effortlessly charming in her stage demeanor and lights up like a firefly in performance. She is a treasure.”
Kurt Elling for JazzTimes
“She’s someone who everybody, in my generation at least, looks up to. She’s really a genius — I don’t like using that word too much, she really has tapped into something in a deep way.”
Ambrose Akinmusire