Excerpt from DownBeat Magazine by Frank-John Hadley
September 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
...they seem to have an exceptional telepathic rapport that obviates the need for complicated arrangements...van Nuis has a light, gorgeous and fairly delicate voice...Brown, a protégé of Cincinnati guitar master Kenny Poole, happens to be an uncommonly good player, with a modesty that brings to mind the fine Canadian guitarist Ed Bickert and a warmth suggestive of Joe Pass. Joined at the conjugal hip, Brown and van Nuis share a gift for melody and have plenty of rhytmic confidence. They project naturalness when phrasing, and their overall intelligence makes understatement and subtlety virtues. They also merit praise for the integrity informing their choice of songs from the past and for their personal involvement with a lyric...
Read more...

Excerpt from All About Jazz by Jack Huntley
January 2013
CD Review - Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
Petra van Nuis' voice is at once alluring and robust. Her tone alternates between delicate playfulness and declarative strength, perfectly suiting the combination of hot jazz and standards on Live In Chicago, an enchanting portrait of her band, Petra's Recession Seven. And oh, what a band it is—capable of captivating backing as well as exciting soloing...
Read more...

Excerpt from LA Jazz Scene by Harvey Barkan
January 2013
CD Review - Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
With a blazing start, Petra’s Recession Seven jumped right in on the first song, "Runnin’ Wild," with a high-energy live presentation...This was not take 5 or 10, as in a recording studio. There’s a feeling about this jazz album that it’s all about the music, as a motivated and enthusiastic group effort... It’s a killer of a band that grabs your attention and doesn’t give it back until they’re finished playing. Vocalist Petra van Nuis is a jazz stylist that uniquely handles lyrics with respect for what they convey, massaging them to personalize the lyrical messages. To see her in person must be a wonderful experience, to see how she physically presents the emotions heard in her vocals. Read more...

Excerpt from Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
August 2012
Swinging Out With Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
Petra’s Recession Seven is, for me, a glorious return to the great principles of swinging jazz...lovely melodic embellishments and admirable team playing over a rocking rhythm section...hot Mainstream that looks back to the great Thirties recordings of Billie and Mildred...Her voice is lovely on its own, but I take special delight in her handling of lyrics...she feels the music in her bones and her delight in the pulse and the repertoire is obvious.
Read more...

Excerpt from Jersey Jazz by Joe Lang
September 2012
CD Review - Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
Do you like music that is sheer fun? If so, you must latch onto "Live in Chicago"...They make their retro style sound fresh. Their musicianship is first rate, and they swing mightily. Van Nuis is a vocalist from whom I hope to hear a lot more. If Chicago style jazz suits your taste, this one will be right for you.
Read more...

Excerpt from Midwest Record by Chris Spector
October 2012
CD Review - Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
...a solid dose of happy, crazy depression era music where the main thing is to get you to forget your troubles...the kind of music we haven’t heard since the last time someone wrote Dave McKenna a sizeable check...a dazzling set that should not be missed...a top shelf date that you can’t help feeling happy when you hear it.
Read more...

Excerpt from ChicagoMusic.org by Neil Tesser
April 2013
CD Review - Petra's Recession Seven "Live In Chicago"
...the decision to record in performance certainly paid off. She sings with looser phrasing than on her studio dates, and it enhances the playful respect she brings to the repertoire. She uses a suitable amount of vocal eyewinks: extra-fine enunciation here, languid understatement over there, and splendidly executed glissandi whenever called for.
Read more...

Excerpt from Arts America by Dan Healy
February 2012
"The Artist?" Try Seven Artists!
The Recession Seven sells their jaunty melodies and sharp rhythms with such panache that you would think you stepped in on Louis Armstrong with his “Hot Seven” or Django Reinhardt performing gypsy jazz in a café in Paris. The group is led by vocalist Petra van Nuis who brilliantly embodies the best singers of the 1930’s...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jersey Jazz by Frank Mulvaney
September 2012
Performance Review
The rising star vocalist Petra van Nuis...is a beautiful and charming young woman with extensive knowledge and deep love of the music. The dramatic way she flawlessly interpreted the lyrics of a dozen songs without the slightest stumble was reflective of great respect for the composers...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jersey Jazz by Tony Mottola
September 2012
Performance Review
...the couple mined the Great American Songbook, both the familiar and the not so familiar...The singer has an airy, almost minimalist style and a sweet flowing legato that pairs perfectly with Brown’s sometimes Pass-like warm and rich accompaniment, played finger style throughout.
Read more...

Excerpt from Examiner.com by Neil Tesser
July 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
...it’s the delightful Petra van Nuis, a thirty-something singer whose light and girlish tone belies her knowing interpretations of carefully shaded lyrics. Van Nuis peppers her sets with tunes a little less known and less often performed, and her easy manner and lack of histrionics serves them well...
Read more...

Excerpt from Guitar International by Matt Warnock
May 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
...a hard swinging and enjoyable album from the Chicago duo of guitarist Andy Brown and vocalist Petra Van Nuis...This album stands on its own two feet as a solid contribution to the jazz guitar-vocal catalogue...each new track brings with it a new musical excursion into the creative minds of these two talented jazzers...their interaction is incredible to witness. Far Away Places takes the listener on an engaging and enjoyable journey through the musical world of this talented duo. Do yourself a favor and check this album out. You won't be disappointed...
Read more...

Excerpt from JazzWeekly.com by George W. Harris
October 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
Here is a charming, unassuming and completely guileless cd by vocalist Petra van Nuis and guitarist Andy Brown. Relaxed, defenseless and disarmed, van Nuis’ salt water taffy of a voice blends with Brown’s erudite picking...With the Spartan arrangement, they give extra feel and intimate depth... This CD will remind you of the old adage that “less is more.”
Read more...

Excerpt from Jazz Podium (Germany) by Andreas Geyer
March 2011
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
Duo recordings are the crowning achievement [or: ultimate discipline] in jazz...the singer Petra van Nuis and the guitarist Andy Brown have found their own way to the magical musical dialogue, which can only partially be described as blind understanding. This duo album with wonderfully relaxed music is an invitation to dream and listen.
Read more...

Excerpt from the Record Collectors Magazine (Japan) by Keizo Takada
August 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
...Petra van Nuis has an attractive girlish voice in the vein of Blossom Dearie and Janet Seidel. She tells the story in the songs with very clear diction and comfortable phrasing and makes the listeners want to hear her again and over again. Andy Brown’s guitar is also superb. This wife and husband are a natural pair: they create a marvelous effect between them. ...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jersey Jazz by Joe Lang
June 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
One of my favorite vocalists of all time was Beverly Kenney...when I started to listen to Far Away Places by vocalist PETRA VAN NUIS and guitarist ANDY BROWN, I was reminded of Kenney, and particularly of the album that she made with the legendary guitarist Johnny Smith. As I continued to listen, I became more impressed with both van Nuis and Brown. They have selected a program that is tasty, comprised of tunes that are not overdone, and includes a few surprises...She gives "Let's Do It" the suggestive edge that makes it most effective. This recording will find an immediate place in my stack of must hear again and again discs...
Read more...

Excerpt from Midwest Record by Chris Spector
March 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
A vocal/guitar duo set by two long time fellow travelers shows that elegance and simpatico can go a long way. It ain’t about the fireworks, it’s about the purity of the performance and that’s what makes this one of those great, low key wonders. When you’ve got it going on, you’ve got it going on and this duo is one of the most ripping good new duos to come along. Check it out when your adult listening ears need something new to fill them...
Read more...

Excerpt from Weisloch Woche (Germany)
May 2011
Jazz Brunch with Petra and Andy
The packed Wiesloch Jazz Club in the Old Train Station experienced an enthused musical start to the second Sunday in May with international class. Petra van Nuis captivated her audience from the first song with her highly expressive and versatile singing. With the subtle presentation of her performance and her charming moderation she made the great jazz and Latin standards immediately comprehensible and alive for her audience...
Read more...

Excerpt from Die Rheinpfalz (Germany) by Hans Kraus
May 2011
Highly Emotional Classics - American Duo Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown at the Neustadt Jazz Club with Popular Standards
Petra van Nuis commands an enormous vocal range, which she employs full of nuance...She succeeds not just with her wide tonal range, but she also imbues the pieces with a lot of expressivity, which she conveys very emotionally...And they are so great as to have been repeatedly applauded in mid-performance by the audience, who was enthusiastically swept along...
Read more...

Excerpt from All Music Guide by Jeff Tamarkin
April 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
There's a starkness to Far Away Places — an album that features nothing but lone vocal and guitar — that, rather than give the music a spare quality, instead brings out the richness of the performances. Unlike many other contemporary female jazz singers, Petra is not a belter but a soother, and she keeps things clean and simple when she sings...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jazzpage.com - If It's Here It Should Be In Your Collection
June 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
Petra Van Nuis and Andy Brown are an engaging guitar-vocal duo. Together, the blend of the two creates warm sound and mood that is hard to ignore. The musical chemistry of voice and guitar is truly special and not to be missed by fans of both instruments...
Read more...

Excerpt from Examiner.com by Neil Tesser
January 2010
Songs For Your Supper at Katerina's spotlights jazz vocals
Saturday night, Katerina’s early show stars Petra van Nuis, a name you may not yet know, but ought to hear more of in 2010. van Nuis’s light, lithe voice has a touch of sweetness – but just a touch, nothing cloying – and a maturity of phrasing and expression you don’t find in all that many singers under 50...Her reading of lyrics tells a listener than she knows things, with the easy confidence of someone who doesn’t have to prove that she knows things...
Read more...

Excerpt from Old Jazz Express (Netherlands)by Cor De Pater
January 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
This is their first CD done exclusively as a couple. An initial reaction might perhaps be to question: "Isn't this risky?" I can, however, immediately reassure you that this is a beautiful CD. Because both listen to each other very well, their CD is wholly balanced...While sitting by the fireplace with a good drink in hand, I will often insert this CD into my player. Then I will dream...
Read more...

Excerpt from All About Jazz by Jack Huntley
January 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
van Nuis' vocal quality is at once strong and wistful. On the title track, a lovely ballad whose dreamy lyrics seem tailor made for her vocal talents, van Nuis never fails to support the melody's cadences with her range and endearing clarity...
Read more...

Excerpt from Chicago Jazz Magazine by Randy Freedman
Jan/Feb 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
The voice of van Nuis is effervescent, yet refined and classy. She can sound hopeful without being overly sweet, or serious with out any sense of manufactured drama. Van Nuis sings the lyrics as she feels they were intended to be sung, adding only the “salt” of her enthusiasm and the “pepper” of her charm. There is a sense of sincerity in every note that even that the most jaded of listeners could not fail to hear...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
November 2009
Petra and Andy Reward Us - "Far Away Places" (CD Review)
But then I heard her version of A COTTAGE FOR SALE, and I was just about stunned by its great dramatic range, mixing ruefulness, poignancy, and loss - without overacting so much as a hair. It was pure feeling, captured beautifully. I might never hear that song sung so heartbreakingly again. Both Petra and Andy get first place in my imagined TALENT DESERVING COSMIC RECOGNITION category! ...
Read more...

Excerpt from JazzChicago.net by Brad Walseth
November 2009
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
van Nuis and Brown have found a niche in presenting the songs of the bygone eras straight and allowing the melodies to hang relatively unadorned. The quaint and clean presentation is utterly charming: in this case it is hip to be square...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jazz Guitar Society Of Western Australia by Ian Mac Gregor
June 2010
Petra van Nuis and Andy Brown "Far Away Places " (CD Review)
...has an attractive voice with clear diction and reminds me of the great Blossom Dearie...you would swear it was two guitars playing..This is a fine duo CD of two talented youngsters who are carrying on the tradition...
Read more...

Excerpt from Jazz Lives by Michael Steinman
October 2009
Petra van Nuis/Andy Brown Chautauqua 2009
Petra is a find: she has a delicate focused voice, doesn’t overact or emote, has beautiful lilting time and musical wit. She honors the songs and their emotions. And she’s no Imitation: when I first heard her, I didn’t instantly think, “Oh, she’s been listening to the Complete Recordings of
_ _ _ _ _ ,” which is a relief...
Read more...

Excerpt from JazzChicago.net by Brad Walseth
2008
Petra Van Nuis "A Sweet Refrain" (CD Review)
This Cincinnati transplant is obviously inspired by American Songbook interpreters like Peggy Lee and Chris Connor, which would be cool enough, but she also brings some of Lady Day Billie Holiday's phrasing as well as a touch of Doris Day innocence. And it is a winning combination...
Read more...

Excerpt from the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors Journal by Perry Huntoon
Summer 2008
Petra van Nuis "A Sweet Refrain" (CD Review)
In an intimate setting and with just a keyboard accompaniment, Petra was dazzling, not only with her appearance, but more importantly, with her phrasing and command of the Great American Songbook.
Read more...

Excerpt from Chicago Jazz Magazine by Randy Freedman
April/May 2008
The Two Katerinas
The voice, the timing, the phrasing, the look, and everything else was all working and she was hitting the musical equivalent of a grand slam home run in baseball right there in front of me.
Read more...

Excerpt from Los Angeles Jazz Scene by Scott Yanow
March 2007
Petra van Nuis "A Sweet Refrain" (CD Review)
Petra van Nuis has a sweet voice, a straightforward delivery, and tends to cut off notes quickly, a bit like Anita O' Day. One also hears touches of Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie, and Mildred Bailey in her phrasing but not in the sound of her voice which is distinctive.
Read more...

Excerpt from Chicago Jazz Magazine by Judy Roberts
November/December 2006
Self-Produced CD Releases - Petra van Nuis "A Sweet Refrain" (CD Review) and Petra van Nuis and Bradley Wiliams "Revenge Of The Kissing Bug" (CD Review)
While her winsome, expressive voice is perfect for songs like "Blame It On My Youth," she also shines on such sophisticated fare as Bob Dorough's "Devil May Care." A Sweet Refrain is an impressive debut CD for talented newcomer Petra van Nuis.
Read more...

Excerpt from Chicago Jazz Magazine by Judy Roberts
July/August 2006
The Invasion of the Cincinnati Kids
I have had the good fortune to play behind Petra many times. She is delicious to accompany; with her appealing musical personality and beguiling singing style, I find it truly refreshing to play piano for her. In a town loaded with singers, Petra stands out as an unusually intriguing interpreter of great material.
Read more...