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| Debbie Duncan (2011) |
© Andrea Canter
The Artists
Quarter has long been home to
instrumental jazz. Vocalists? Not so much.
Owner Kenny Horst has presented vocalists, including out-of-town guests
Diane Witherspoon, Tessa Souter, Teri Roiger, Judi Silvano, and Kendra Shank.
Local singers who have managed to get a gig now and then have included Lucia
Newell, Vicky Mountain, Connie Evingson, Charmin Michelle, Nicola Miller, Patty
Peterson, Maud Hixson, Bruce Henry, Maurice Jacox, the Phil Mattson Singers, and -- especially on
New Year's Eve--Kenny's mother-in-law, Carole Martin. The fact that Debbie Duncan has
appeared on a number of weekends throughout the years is a tribute to Debbie's
popularity as well as Kenny's (accurate) perception that she is a true jazz
singer. Of course Debbie sings with plenty of blues and soul, scats as if it is
her first language, and is simply an engaging entertainer, whether singing a
ballad or wise-cracking with the band or audience.
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| Debbie Duncan (2011) |
Debbie carries some of her native Memphis blues
and adopted hometown Detroit
grit into every song. Leigh Kamman once noted that "Debbie is a master
messenger deserving wider recognition." And she still reigns high among
the master messengers of the Artists Quarter.
