Diane Postell

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Bio

Diane Postell is a singer-songwriter of uncommon soul and grace; moving easily from jazz to rhythm and blues. Diane Postell began her musical training at the Berklee College of Music and graduated with a music performance degree from New York University. Her travels in the music business read like a who’s who of industry professionals: Bruce Lowe (Stevie Wonder, Andre Crouch), Lenny Greene (Motown Records), Marcus Printup (Wynton Marsalis).Diane has also been a music educator with a special interest in music therapy in many different capacities (i.e. teenage girls who are labeled "emotionally disturbed" to small children diagnosed with autism) for the last 6 years. Postell is also a vocal coach for teenagers in production and adults alike.Recently, Diane launched her own production company, Postell Productions, and is proud to present Diane’s first solo release, What I Got To Say, available at www.dianepostell.com.

Chesapeake Review

What I Got To Say by Diane Postell is an exceptional album, full of solid writing and playing. With a voice suited to many styles, Postell has no problem moving back and forth across the musical spectrum with relative ease. With the Stevie Nicks-ish sounding Seule En Amour to a cover of Otis Redding’s Respect, there’s a lot of territory in between that she handles with equal aplomb. From the opening track, I Think Of You, with its funky chorus and rap background vocals (from Moses Lewis), to the beautiful ballad, What I Got To Say, that closes the record, this album showcases Postell’s skills as a songwriter and vocalist of the first degree. Penning ten of the eleven cuts, she hasn’t stuck herself in on e particular category, so she gives us a very diverse offering. A little reggae on Leaving Home, some funk on My Heart Is Torn Apart to the pop sound of Mister Mess. Her backing band, Michael McHenry – guitar, Jay Turner – bass, Mookie Siegel – keys and John Thomakos – drums provide tight accompaniment and production by Postell sounds sparse, which is good in this case as it gives the recording a live feel. Local guitar cult hero, O’Donel Levy also guests along with Benjie Porecki sitting in on keys. Diane Postell has made a fine album she can be proud of in What I Got To Say and one that would make a nice addition to any collection of good music.Reviewed by: Michael Macey Chesapeake Music Guide July, 2004

Blues Society Review

Most of the local talent in Baltimore performs within the city, so it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy Diane Postell at the Poplar Inn in Dundalk. Sandwiched between the end of the bar and a wall, with the drummer off to one side, was a somewhat strange set up, but it did not effect the bands performance.Diane Postell performed with John Bell on the ax, bass man, Jay Turner and drummer, Chuck Fuerte, but it was Diane who was clearly the superior talent in this outfit.“Her voice can evoke a full range of emotions from lost love all the way to anger and angst. I particularly liked her song selections, mixing late 60’s rock and roll (Stones, Hendrix etc.) with more traditional Blues standards. It is a credit to Diane that she is careful to match her range with songs she can perform well, a lesson many singers take a long time to understand! She was keenly in tune with the audience that night, performing some crowd pleasers as well as introducing some material they were not familiar with. Overall Diane was well rehearsed, had a good connection with the audience, and chose a variety of material that complimented her talents.” - The Baltimore Blues Society - Sound like a seasoned performer? I do not know, but if my experience is typical, we will be hearing more from Diane Postell!

Music Monthly Review

“In the middle of the month this cute little blonde woman banged on our door. Introducing Diane Postell, but I don’t know much about her—except she had the cutest shoes on. I always know I am gonna like a person if I like their shoes. Normally, I like flat shoes, and those who wear them. I don’t do heels and can’t figure out how some women wear those four and five inch things, I’d be on my face. Not to mention being very uncomfortable. She has a tremendous voice, and is about to release, What I Got To Say on her very own Postell Production label. She has brought together the region’s best..People like O’Donel Levy—we both smiled at the thought of him. He is a tremendous talent, and plays a masterful guitar. Also on this record is John Thomakos on drums, Mookie Siegel and Benjie Porecki on keyboards, Michael McHenry on guitar. Jay Turner plays bass, Moziah Saleem plays African drums and percussion. Moses Lewis does the rap vocals on the opening track—but I could have done without it. He’s good at what he does, it’s just not my cup of tea..Most of the songs on What I Got To Say were written by Postell, and Turner did some arranging. For the most part, this is a great effort. I am impressed..but I was impressed before I even listened to the disc. She did everything right. She put together a business plan, she raised enough money to start her production company, record her CD and do all the things one needs to do if they are to make their dreams come true. She took classes and went to seminars, and spent hours on end on the internet learning what she needed to learn to make it happen. She brought together the best players in the region, found the right studio and proudly presents her debut release. For a white woman, this lady has a lot of soul. Her business card reads rock, R&B, Funk, Blues, Jazz and its all in there. There are a couple of stand-out tracks, but some of the songs were way too long. I didn’t think the fifth cut would ever end. “Bobby’s Song” had so much going for it, but it went on and on. I had to fast forward quickly. I also didn’t like her version of “Respect”, but that’s a personal thing. For the most part this is a pretty exciting first CD by anyone’s standards. In addition to the finest players she also employed the best we’ve got in business. Not only did she record at Secret Sound, she had Dick Rausch do the mastering, and Oasis did the duplication and allow me to quote Diane here, “They got the job done right, in record time.” Stay tuned for more on Diane Postell and company.”Susie Mudd - Publisher Music Monthly Magazine [email protected] 410-494-0566 800-884-4908 1144 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21093-6201 www.musicmontly.com