"It's a salute and thank you to all those who helped my musical journey," Combs said. "The performance Oct. 5 at Picasso's is a celebration. People will be honored at that program, and there will be a special guest musician. Jay and I will be performing, and Jay has announcements about touring next year.
"(The music) is not country or gospel or rock. It's jazz. It's not Western cool jazz. It's hard to describe. It comes from the great American songbook. My goal is to preserve that kind of music, from the golden of age of lyrics."
Combs said the CD will be for sale Thursday, and she will be signing any CDs brought in as well as any sold then.
So far, she's getting positive feedback from people who have bought the recording. Combs said she works hard to not sound like someone else, to have her own sound, and wanted the sound of "The Nearness of You" to be playful, sophisticated and real. "It's taken a lot of work to get there."
She said the recording also is getting airplay on the "Jazz Avenue" program on the Western Kentucky University public radio station.
Combs said she wants to promote the cultural arts and artists of this area of Kentucky.
"I've always lived in Kentucky. Twenty-five more miles and I'd be in Tennessee, and I can't imagine being anywhere else but in Kentucky.
"My goal is to encourage others to live their dreams. This is a dream come true to do this."
On the Net:
www.nan-ciymusic.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/nanciy
