DENIELLE BASSELS

WHAT ABOUT WOOL WISHBAGS

Indie-swing chanteuse Denielle Bassels releases her much-anticipated debut album, What About Wool Wishbags, a caravan of gypsy jazz, blues, folk, with a tinge of pop, all wrapped in an innovative and scintillating package.

Already an award-winning artist – the song "Cool Cool Water" from her 2013 EP Gypsy Summer, garnered the Grand Prize in the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Competition, for Jazz, and as well, she was Finalist in the JLSC for the originals "Catch'er And She Gone" and "Dreamer" – the Toronto-based Denielle Bassels and her Quintet have been entertaining audiences in venues all over the GTA, and are building quite a reputation.

Bassels' commanding stage presence and swinging band will stop you in your tracks and immerse you in her stories, drawing inspiration from the early 1920's to the modern day. With the help of producer and long-time collaborator Mike Mathieson (who also plays ukulele and percussion on the album), she seamlessly connects the familiar tropes of swing, blues, and folk in a way that's fresh, exciting and alluring.

While listening to this well-crafted, uniquely produced album What About Wool Wishbags, it's tempting to make comparisons to Amy Winehouse, Corrine Bailey Rae, even Billie Holiday, but the enchanting, bewitching Bassels is creating an impressive sound all her own.

Bassels definitely has her feet firmly on the ground on this debut, but Jaymz Bee, On-Air Radio Host on Jazz FM 91.1 says it best, "There are few singer-songwriters in North America as original and refreshing as Denielle Bassels. A star on the rise!"