Press & Reviews
“A New Orleans group without familiar players is always a nice find. I love how the city contains and continues to attract multitudes. Amber Rachelle & The Sweet Potatoes are as fresh as it gets.
Forming around 2021, this debut album is from 2023, a year that also found them on stage at the NOLA Jazz Museum in a show you should seek out on YouTube. They recently played the French Quarter Fest and seem to be growing a following.
With no biography available I did some digging and discovered a 2017 video of Amber Rachelle on the streets of Seattle with an earlier group Amber tests two one liners: “Jazz, not for old people. Jazz, for everybody.” Amber also talks about wanting to go to New Orleans; looks like she made it.
What distinguishes the Sweet Potatoes from other groups around New Orleans today, is that they are more of a swing band, though one unavoidably rooted in New Orleans playing. It remains an interesting choice for her, when finally reaching New Orleans, to step a little forward in time. Though it does add some variety to the local scene, and maybe give them an in.
They all may be still in their 20s! That said there is nothing juvenile about this band. They are in the thick of it, playing multiple times a week in a city that sweats music, and promise to be on the scene for decades to come. The magnetic power of New Orleans for jazz musicians remains.
A few tracks I found give Amber a chance to be more sultry, bluesy, or push her vocal expressiveness to its limits. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is and example of this from the album and “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” is worth finding in the video from the NOLA Jazz Museum. She can belt one when the title calls for it. There is a Facebook video of her performing Bessie Smith’s “’Lectric Chair Blues” in tribute to Meschiya Lake, which is frankly as things should be. Nothing is more indicative of a healthy jazz scene than generations both older and younger feeding off each other.”
-Joe Bebco The Syncopated Times
“Too Sweet, by Amber Rachelle and The Sweet Potatoes, leapt out at me, this one comes across very much as an album made for dancing to.
Most of the tunes featured sit within a range ideal for Lindy hop, offering plenty of bounce at a pace which won’t wear out your shoes.
I’ve previously praised female vocalists whose style is clean and uncomplicated, but hearing Rachelle reminds me why I’ll always prefer a singer whose voice is distinctively characterful. She exhibits tremendous dynamism, from bluesy to peppy, showcasing all those impressive, jazz vocalist skills like octave jumps to pitch bends. And it’s fascinating to hear tunes originally sung in that affected transatlantic accent by Ella, Billie, et al but in a more authentic-sounding midwest voice.
I’ll be recommending this record to every swing dance DJ I know—and I recommend it to you, too. Check it out on Bandcamp, where it can be yours for just $15.”
-Dave Doyle The Syncopated Times