NEWS

KNAPP IS "BURNING DAYLIGHT"
GAYS MILLS JAZZ SINGER REACHES MILESTONE; RECORDING RELEASED

...by Charley Preusser
Crawford County Independent
February 9, 2006

Gays Mills jazz singer Christie Knapp reached a milestone in her hot new musical career recently with the release of her first recording "Burning Daylight".

Knapp has been singing in the area for the last couple of years with her band Club Lucky. The attractive blonde with the pure voice and lovely smile relies on jazz standards and her engaging stage persona to entertain audiences.

"Burning Daylight" is Knapp's take on 14 jazz favorites with the help of five musicians and a professional recording studio. The selections include two tunes by George and Ira Gershwin, including the first track on the CD "They Can't Take That Away".

No Christie, it seems you've got that part right--they can't take this major accomplishment away from you.

To produce and distribute "Burning Daylight" Knapp started her own record company, Twilight 44 , and dug deep into her savings.

Why Twilight 44??

Knapp explained it was a reference to her age and setting a course for the rest of her life.

The quality recording was made at Soundstrations Studio in La Crosse. It's being well received by old friends and complete strangers. Knapp is marketing "Burning Daylight" on the Internet, in addition to selling it at gigs and a few local outlets.

In Gays Mills, the CD is available at the Village Greenhouse. On the Internet, the recording can be found at cdbaby.com and amazon.com.

The last track on the CD is "Wonderful World" , a song made famous by Louis Armstrong.

"They're jazz standards" , Knapp explained. "Sometimes, when we're playing a gig you can see people in the audience singing along."

They may be singing, but it's a sure bet they're not sounding like Knapp. The singer took instruction in jazz theory from Mike James, a jazz guitarist in La Crosse. She also is blessed with a beautiful alto voice that she once used as a member of the Ridgetones, a singing group from Viroqua.

Knapp writes her own charts to the songs she performs. This allows her to put the music in her key.

To be a "crooner" or "torch singer" has been Knapp's dream since she was six. Her father's death a few years back was an "eye opener". She felt propelled to follow her dream. She realized, in her words that she was "burning daylight" and it was "time to get on with it".

The would-be jazz singer began asking local musicians to play jazz. The response was slow in coming.

One of the first people she asked, John Coleman, took awhile to answer the call, In the end he did. It was the beginning of Club Lucky.

"It's been a fun ride", Coleman, an experienced guitarist, said of playing jazz with Knapp. Most of his work before Club Lucky was rock and country-rock. He has been totally taken by the Jazz experience.

"I'm evolving in my craft," Coleman said, with a sense of accomplishment.

In creating the recording, Knapp chose to hire professional jazz musicians from LaCrosse area instead of using her band. She made the decision to create more effiency in the studio, where recording time is very expensive. However, she is still enamored of "her guys, my hometown band".

Brett Huus, the owner of Soundstrations, the studio that recorded "Burning Daylight" is full of praise for the jazz singer from Gays Mills. Huus is an accomplished sound engineer, who won a Grammy for his recording work with another artist last year.

"Christie is a joy to work with", Huus said. He was impressed with her talent and her ability to manage the project.

"She basically knew what she wanted to do", Huus recalled. The five talented musicians she hired included three music professors.

"They're all professionals and that helped," Huus said of the musicians. "It doesn't take them long to get the sound you're looking for."

Most of "Burning Daylight" was recorded in two days. The musicians essentially played the music live two or three times for each tune.

"That's typical for jazz recordings," according to Huus. Knapp sang a "scratch track" at the sessions and later sang another track that was dubbed into the recording for the scratch track. For a couple of tunes, Knapp decided her vocal track at the recording session, the scratch track, couldn't be improved and no dub track was made.

That fits. Knapp's performance relies on being in the moment and using the interplay between her voice and the instruments. She talks about getting "in the zone", much like profession athletes.

"It's about being in my creative space, Knapp said of her singing. Christie's creative space is what brings the listeners their pleasure.

How good is Knapp?

"She has a great voice in the tradition of jazz singers and crooners," Huus said without hesitation. The experienced studio owner believes Knapp could take her charts and tour the country, finding work and willing musicians where she landed.

As for Huus, he loves listening to "Burning Daylight" with coffee on Sunday mornings and while driving his car through the streets of La Crosse.

If you need to find out more, you can pick up a "Burning Daylight" CD on the Internet or at the Village Greenhouse, or you can catch Club Lucky live in La Crosse this Saturday (Feb. 11) at the

Starlite Lounge. "It's a retro martini bar," Knapp said of the Starlite. "It's the perfect venue for us."