Angela DeNiro
Ms. DeNiro was the featured opening act at the Seaford Jazz Festival, performing with jazz great Bobby Forrester, and was featured with the Dennis Wilson “All-Star Big Band”, whose roster included Jerome Richardson, Benny Powell, Ray Mosca, Earl May, Jimmy Owens, and Spanky Davis. She has performed at the Rainbow Room, and many major New York hotels, and was frequently found rattling the walls at Long Island’s favorite jazz club, Sonny’s Place.
Her first CD, Just For the Fun Of It, with the Ron Aprea Orchestra, demonstrated that Angela was a singer who was ready to be recognized. Her 1997 recording, Swingin’ With Legends, was entered for 1998 GRAMMY nominations in the following categories: Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, & Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for Midnight Sun and A Ballad For Matthew.) In addition to the star-studded Ron Aprea Big Band, this recording featured legendary jazz greats Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, and Lew Tabakin.
Ms. DeNiro was featured as a GTE Giants of Jazz at the 1998 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, Idaho, where she and Ron Aprea performed with the Kenny Barron Trio, and with Lionel Hampton and his Big Band, to exuberant audiences that exceeded ten thousand. Angela and Ron joined jazz greats such as Freddie Cole Ethel Ennis, Diana Krall, Abbey Lincoln, and Ernestine Anderson, in helping to musically celebrate Lionel Hampton’s 90th birthday. The summer season culminated with a concert at Planting Fields Arboretum in Locust Valley, New York. Angela and Ron were again featured with Lionel Hampton’s Big Band, where her performance was greeted with a standing ovation from thousands of exuberant fans.
Angela and her husband, Ron Aprea, co-hosted a weekly jazz radio show on WSHR, 91.9 FM, New York for two years. Their show, Rush -Hour Rendezvous, featured the music of jazz greats old and new, as well as interesting conversation and interviews with legendary jazz artists. In January 2001, Angela performed on” BET-TV”. This nationally televised program, “Jazz Discovery” featured vocal and instrumental jazz artists in competition. The panel of three judges included jazz legend Chick Corea…Angela won first prize!
