Melissa Pace Tanner: Press

"A Little Jazz with Your Mistletoe" (Tempo Records TR081206), recorded live in December 2006 at the Rose Wagner Black Box Theater in Salt Lake City, Utah. Since this is a concert performance, the tonal quality isn't studio-pristine, but Waldis and his band compensate with plenty of enthusiasm.
Waldis works with three sidemen and vocalist Melissa Pace, who croons and bops her way through roughly half of these 14 tracks. She delivers a deliciously smoky "Let it Snow" at an unexpectedly slow tempo, and sashays her way through a clever medley of "The Christmas Song" and "Over the Rainbow."
She also works a cute ad-lib into an equally clever blend of "Sleigh Ride," "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "On the Trail," when - in "Sleigh Ride" - she talks about how nice it is to "pass around Kahlœa with our pumpkin pie." I'd love to have seen these folks live; the show must've been a kick."

May 3, 2008
Review: Utah Symphony swings
Sunday Arts
"How could that music possibly have ever gone out of style?" one concertgoer asked her seatmate at the end of the Utah Symphony's salute to the swing era on Friday night...
Melissa Pace Tanner handled most of the vocal duties, putting an idiomatically appropriate, refreshingly unfussy spin on standards such as "Someone to Watch Over Me," " 'S Wonderful" and "Sunny Side of the Street." Dancers from the Salt Lake Jitterbugs brought youthful energy and spontaneity to several numbers...

Great female jazz vocals in Utah? Come on, who’s kidding who? I’ve been doing a women in music program in Salt Lake on www.krcl.org for 25 years with an emphasis on divas of jazz and r and b. There are a lot of talented folkies around these mountains, but jazz? No way! I was prodded into hearing Melissa Pace at a small club here and from the moment she opened her mouth I was transported to the Algonquin Hotel and the sounds of divas of yore. Her pipes are gorgeous, her arrangements clever. She’s a MUST SEE and a MUST BUY!

"Salt Lake City ought to be proud to hold such a treasure as singer Melissa Pace. Melissa is more than worth the visit. She rocks. Her rich velvety voice easily meets the challenge of any song. She possesses a deep diverstiy and excellent taste. Personable and friendly, she keeps a high-spirited banter going between herself, pianist Wayne Christiansen and the audience."

"Anyone who delivers a worthy version of Willie Nelson's "Crazy" is OK in our book, and Melissa Pace's jazzy version on her new CD, "Am I Blue?" is certainly worthy."

"Pace gives a good performance on her debut solo album. She has a clear, appealing voice and a nice feel for the music. She has a very likable approach and gives the various songs different flavors, according to their styles. If you're looking for something you can whistle along with and relax to while driving, this is worth cheking out."

All that jazz
Zanzibar is a fantastic bar with a kickin' music scene
By: Matthew Barney
Issue date: 2/8/06 Section: A & E
Amid the calm ambience and mellow lights of the Zanzibar club Melissa Pace, her cohort Wayne Christiansen and accompanying musicians perform jazz music each Thursday night. Pace is a singer, but more importantly, Pace is a jazz singer. Her alto voice is light and smooth, like a good wine, and the inebriation Pace stirs in the hearts of her listeners is better than any stiff drink. Accompanied by Christiansen-an acrobat on the keyboards, often seen juggling a florid jazz piano line with his left hand and a bass riff with his right-the duo kick out the jazz to any and all who will listen. The show is a spectacle, especially when performed as a duo-Christiansen will even sometimes jump down to a lower keyboard and play the horns, guitar or any number of other wild instruments simultaneously-and on particularly raucous nights, a live horn player, drummer, bass player or contrabass clarinet player might possibly show up to jam. With invariable grace, Pace and Christiansen embrace the musical additions by merging styles in the way only jazz musicians can. m.barney@chronicle.utah.edu