"Jamie DeFrates has been at the forefront of Florida's professional music scene for several decades. His current recording studio in Jacksonville, Florida is celebrating its’ 15 year anniversary. DeFrates has 6 CD's of original material to his credit and his scoring projects for regional and national clients reads like a Top 20 list from the Chamber of Commerce: The Wilderness Society, PGA Tour, Sally Corporation, Toyota, Cadillac, The American Cancer Society and many more. DeFrates is a highly capable producer/composer, with an array of awards to prove it. One of his favorites is the soundtrack he composed for Iakovos, A Legacy: A documentary on the life of Archbishop Iakovos. Airing on the A&E network, the project received an Emmy. He's also fond of the music he composed for "Timber," which was created for The Wilderness Society. The Timber music video won two Silver Tellys, three Florida Crystal Reels (including Best Original Score) three Jacksonville Image awards, including Best of Show and for all of that, the Atlanta Songwriter's Association voted DeFrates songwriter of the year. He's also composed music for several theme park rides in America and around the world including Spain, Canada and Belgium. His latest musical score was for Legoland in California, The Lost Kingdom Adventure." (ArbusMagazine)
"Winterhawk" is impeccably recorded with Jamie’s unwaveringly clear voice mixed up front. The CD also features Susan Brown on backup vocals and the lead vocal on her original song "Come Back Baby". Other guest artists appear, including Andy King on upright bass, Chip Herrington on harmonica, Brian Homan on Dobro, and Gabe Valla on mandolin. Although all the tracks include a cadre of guest musicians, thankfully, the CD is not overproduced. Winterhawk is Jamie’s stellar return to his folk roots. This music has strong emotional commitment conjuring up visions of the mighty hawk flying freely on the wind currents. Emotional transfer by osmosis is very rare on a studio project but this stunningly beautiful acoustic recording, collectively, is like a walk on the beach with a cool breeze on your face.†(Rick Grant, Entertaining U Magazine)
