Vivian Sessoms

"Ultimately, though, Morales has never been one to follow the latest trend. Instead, he has remained true to quality house beats of a musical kind. And on tracks like 'Take My Love', featuring Vivian Sessoms, the lyrics and music soar." - MP
- billboard.biz/jan 2005

"But it's Vivian Sessoms who has the last word with the beautifully crafted "Take My Luv". This is a number that woos and wins with a stellar groove and a taut, instantly memorable melody that perfectly highlights Morales' uncanny ability to create timeless productions and uncover bright and exciting new talent".
- Reviewer: Lewis Dene - bbc.co.uk/jan 2005

"Truly an album project in all-around quality, cohesion, confession and conscience, Sunny One Day renders picking singles pointless, though I'm partial to 'It's Alright', 'He Who Knows', 'Ghettoland', 'Luv U' and 'Heroin'.
What a mind-blowing surprise – Albright's Sunny One Day is the most unexpected out-of-left-field slice of lyrical, musical and aural perfection since Aya’s Strange Flower and a qualifier for Best of 2007."
- A. Scott Galloway - urban network/aug. 2007

"On this album, Sessoms' clear, exquisite voice shimmers against a percolating R&B/jazz backdrop.
Repeat worthy tracks: 'Dunno' What', 'Tainted (Love)', ;Sunny One Day' and 'Fadin' Out'". - Gail Mitchell - billboard/dec 2008

Background singers with enough star power to release solo efforts never seem to stay long in the spotlight. Remember Lisa Fischer (Luther Vandross), N'Dambi (Erykah Badu), and Trey Lorenz (Mariah Carey)?
They all came with heavily endorsed debuts and then...nothing. This shouldn't be the case for New Yorker Vivian Sessoms, one powerful half of the duo Albright, who's been working behind the scenes with some of music's most respected names: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Patti Austin, and Lalah Hathaway. With a touch of smooth jazz production, Albright's debut album, Sunny One Day, gives this singer-songwriter's heralded vocals free range over her partner Chris Parks's blend of soul. Feel the chemistry on 'Tainted (Love)', an intoxicating track drunk with hypnotic drum beats and Sessoms' gentle mix of R&B and gospel; 'In Between Worlds', a touching song about acceptance that's as topical as it is sweet; and 'Luv U', a lover's letter of all the things we can never hear enough of.
Willie C. Alaman - Uptown - uptown magazine/spr 2008

"When Vivian Sessoms erupts onto the stage with a robust, funky arrangement of “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” (Louis Jordan), my pen abandons words for exclamation points. In “Back to Black” (Amy Winehouse/Mark Ronson), her gutsy, hard-charging voice, colluding with one of the best horn sections I’ve heard, sends shivers up the spine: “You went back to what you knew/So far removed from all that we went through/And I tread a troubled track/My odds are stacked/I'll go back to black”. Sessoms dismantles the poor sod in the song.

A rousing hot-damn-cry-out-clap-‘n’-stomp-let ’em-rip “Cherchez la Femme” (A. Darnell/ S.Browder, Jr. for Dr.Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band) provokes people at the back to wave arms or napkins; others infectiously sing—yes—they pipe up from the room. “It pays to have friends who sing.” Texturally dynamic—there’s that fabulous brass again—its primitive, processional rhythm sees Sessoms bump, shimmy and parade joyfully among the tables.

Sessoms can taffy-pull a consonant like Tina Turner or purposefully omit one like Dinah Washington. She has skill, range and, later, gives us a taste of excellent, fluid scat.

This is a formidably talented performer with a fierce band." - Alix Cohen - cabaret scenes/aug 2011

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Monday 27th June 2016

One never knows who one will meet in Adelaide, or where they might have come from. This happens at any time of the year, but during the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, the chances of meeting fascinating people from anywhere in the world is greatly increased. The Adelaide Festival Centre's Piano Bar at the end of the evening is the place to relax for a while before heading home, the venue this year featuring the sensational entertainer, Trevor Jones. It is also the place to catch up with friends, and make new ones.

One of the people that I met this year, and who was later invited to join Jones on stage for a couple of numbers this year, was professional singer, Vivian Sessoms, from Jersey City, New Jersey. As luck would have it, she was performing at a local music venue, The Wheatsheaf Hotel, with three of Adelaide's best young jazz musicians before heading to the eastern states to perform. The performance was under the banner of Creative Original Music Adelaide (COMA) which runs a regular series of concerts there.

She was backed by Mark Ferguson on keyboard, Lyndon Gray on bass and bass guitar, and Ben Todd on drums, and they did a superb job with the complex charts. The superb arrangements were all written by Sessoms and so they could not have been more suited to her singing.

Australian composer, Brenton Foster, took over the keyboards for a couple of his own very fine numbers, which Sessoms interpreted with a clear understanding of what was needed to really sell them, and Adelaide singer, and cabaret favourite, Kate Fuller, was called up to join Sessoms. Their two different styles proved a good contrast while their voices blended so well.

The central focus, of course, was Vivian Sessoms, and what an amazing voice she possesses. She has a very wide range and remarkable control, from breathy whispers to a powerful roar. Every number is transformed into something new and very personal, particularly an unbelievable version of Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit. From Duke Ellington's composer/arranger, Billy Strayhorn, to pop music, she injects new life, emotional value, and excitement. The concert was showcasing tunes that will be on her next CD, so keep an eye open for it, and watch for Vivian Sessoms's return next year.

She will be performing shortly in Brisbane and Canberra. - Broadway World