Vanessa Collier - Honey Up (2018)

Vanessa Collier graduated Boston’s Berklee College of Music with degrees in Performance, Music Production, and Engineering. In 2014 Collier released her debut album “Heart, Soul and Saxophone”. Her mixture of blues, rock, soul and funk resulted in being named a 2014 Best of Blues Breaker on Dan Aykroyd’s House of Blues radio show. After competing in the 2016 International Blues Challenge, held annually in Memphis, she was signed by Ruf Records.

Collier’s 2017 Ruf Records album “Meeting My Shadow” was first released to radio before the actual release date. The result was a 2017 Blues Music Award nomination as Horn Player of The Year. At this year’s BMA awards Collier received two additional nominations including Contemporary Female Artist of The Year.

The “Honey Up” Band includes Collier, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, guitar and vocals; Laura Chavez and/or Sparky Parker, guitar; William Gorman, keyboards; Nick Trautmann, bass; and Nick Stevens, drums and percussion. Trombone player Quinn Carson and the trumpet of Doug Woolverton (Roomful of Blues) are added on half of the tracks. The album is entirely self produced by Collier who enlists two of her former college professors: Mark Wessel as recording engineer and Rich Mendelson for the mixing and mastering. All of the songs are written by Collier except one.