(December 16, 2022) - "It's not just me," said Jazz vocalist Samantha Fierke about her debut album "Mirage". "...give them credit."

The "Mirage" project is produced by Loyd Warden and features Mickey Jamieson on bass, Samuel Luetkemeyer on keyboard, and Warden on drums and percussion. The debut album offers eight selections. In 2018 Samantha released her debut EP "Sam" offering five selections.

"I was raised around lots of kinds of music," she said when I asked, "Why Jazz?" "Once I started singing Jazz and seeing the culture, I was in love with Jazz's interconnection...with the musicians. Creating something brand new each time."

Fierke sought the advice of several Grammy winning vocalists like Oleta Adams ("Get Here"), a role model who has taken an interest Samantha's work. Upon the release of "Mirage" Fierke performed selections from the album in her hometown Columbia, MO, and Boston where she attends Berklee College of Music.

"As much as I love recording, my greatest love is performing, playing off of the musicians on the stage," Samantha told me when asked. "I want to be well rounded, to pay my bills so I can do what I love."

Another mentor of Fierke's is Grammy winning Brother Paul Brown (The Waterboys) who was so impressed with the "Mirage" project that he submitted the album for Grammy consideration in five categories. My favorite cuts off the "Mirage" album include #2 "I Remember Butterflies" because her vocals and the musicians' evoked visions of a smokie nightclub atmosphere; #3 "Shower Song" because her vocals are sweet and smooth; #4 "Color Me" because of its Pop genre vibe, and #6 "Sweet Girl" because the piano solo by Samuel is so very nice and again Samantha's vocals evoke visions of a smokie Jazz nightclub. www.SamDoesJazz.com