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Grazyna Auguścik - Polish-born Chicago vocalist
is an excellent scat singer, bandleader, rhythmically sensitive and with a lean, but solid voice. On her CD Don't Let Me Go (GMA), which features guitarist John McLean & bassist Harrison Bankhead, she performs vocal versions of a number of tunes (by Ron Carter, Kenny Garrett, Mulgrew Miller & Makato Ozone) that have perviously existed only as instrumentals. Her new CD, Pastels (on her own imprintm, GMA Records), similarly takes an entirely new look at a bunch of classics, from Ellington to Jobim.
Chicago Reader critic Peter Margasak says "she has a remarkable talent for reimagining standards."
Says Playboy jazz critic Neil Tesser, "Auguscik is a jazz rarity -- a vocalist who, by dint of temperament and training, refuses to rely on mere sentimentality." The Chicago Tribune's Howard Reich adds, "Auguscik's evocative alto stands at the center of all sound, yielding long-lined lyricism at one moment, ebullient scat singing the next."

RAM Arts & Entertainment Guide's Doug Collier says, "Auguscik is a terrific vocalist who does not use theatrics, and strives to make every note significant."

She is one of the headliners of the 1998 Chicago Jazz Festival with organist Dan Trudell, guitarist John McLean, bassist Eric Hochberg, drummer Eric Montka, and percussionist Ruben Alvarez.

1. Caravan
2. He Was To Good To Me
3. Love For Sale
4. Send In The Clowns
5. Willow Weep For Me
6. A Time For Love
7. Polkadots And Moonbeams
8. The Cost Of Living
9. Well, You Needn't
10. Little Bird