"Pascale's singing is the stuff of dreams, whether on the achingly beautiful "I Wanna Be Loved" or the reliably uplifting "Ill Remember You," where she shines with halogen brightness. "
"Vocalist Joanna Pascale has an enviable commodity: a durable and pliant alto voice over which she has perfect control. Whether she is in a conversational mode, as on Valerie Brown's "Forget Me" or a slow walk through the Goffin/King classic "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," Pascale readily makes the lyrics real and her own in a comfortable and familiar way that tactilely feels like a favorite blanket... warm, sensual, satisfying."
"Close listening reveals strong hints of Lena Horne and Nancy Wilson. Stylistically, though, Pascale more closely suggests Peggy Lee. Like Lee, she reveals an innate sensuality, equaling Lee's ability to elevate ballads to maximum torchiness and also to swing with soft, playful sexiness..."
"Joanna Pascale isn't the sort of jazz vocalist who draws attention to herself at the expense of a lyric. As Through My Eyes illustrates, she also doesn't settle for songs whose words don't deserve the attention... Her real gift is storytelling, not improvisation, and she puts that talent to splendid use..."
could be another tired retread of the Great American Songbook by yet another generic vocalist, Pascale shows she's got the taste and skills to pull off a pleasantly relaxed set of standards..."
"The music of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway served as a backdrop for Joanna Pascale's youth and inform her recent album, Through My Eyes (Stiletto). But the Philadephia singer's embrace of this upbeat material did not come so easily..."
"Philadelphia jazz singer Joanna Pascale discovered her love of storytelling at age 15, when she heard her first Billie Holiday record. 'I was attracted to the lyrics, and the passion behind them. I guess I was an overdramatic teenager,' she said in a telephone interview. 'That record just opened a floodgate...'"
"I've always been fascinated by not only what people say, but also how they say it. Lately, I've been focusing on the hidden intent of what people say, often looking for a deeper meaning. The human voice is by far our oldest and most profound means of communication, used to express emo- tions of joy, pain, anger, love, sorrow, etc. Though sometimes difficult to interpret material to which I have an emotional dis- connect, vocally, I want to draw from these emotions in order to deliver a clear and honest interpretation of a song. My great- est challenge is to remain present in the moment and connect with the lyrics to effectively express the story..."