She would tell you that this new cd, titled »Postcards from Downtown,« is her first studio record, though her fans may disagree. Circulating - and jealously hoarded - are one live CD and numerous cassettes, Dayna's recorded on the fly, sometimes adding the discarded fruits of too many demo and development deals for too many labels and producers among them Bob Power (D'Angelo, Me'shell N'degeOcello, Erykah Badu) and Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson, Joe Henry, kd lang). Much to her fans' dismay, she doesn't play much of the older material anymore. A cassette from the early 90's called »Footprints« recently fetched 40 bucks on e-bay. But she's moved onto other things.

Dayna's a self proclaimed »road dog« having spent the better part of the last 10 years running old cars into the ground touring solo, startling audiences into rapt silence at venues such as the Ark, Eddie's Attic, and the Iron Horse. She's toured as a support act with artists as varied as Chris Whitley, Richie Havens, Olu Dara, Richard Buckner, and Kelly Joe Phelps, as well as opened for countless others, including B.B. King, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Along the way, Dayna's been a featured artist on the nationally syndicated show, »World Cafe,« been the subject of a feature story on NPR's »Morning Edition,« been voted the female songwriter of the year by the National Academy of Songwriters in 1997, and been picked up by her current publishing company, Bug Music (Johnny Cash, Ryan Adams, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Wilco). When not on the highway, she lives in a silk mill in north Jersey, a sad old factory town called Paterson where she continues to draw inspiration.

»She writes riveting poetry, has a truly incredible voice, is a terrific guitarist, and simply dominates the room with her presence.« - Music City Texas (Austin)

Vocally, Dayna Kurtz has few peers. She possesses the warmth and timing of an old jazz diva - Billie, or Nina Simone. But add the kind of dramatic command only a Tom Waits or a Marianne Faithfull possesses, and you may be getting closer. Truth is, she sounds and writes like no one else. And on top of it all, she's a helluva guitarist -weaving her vocals in and out of sometimes languid, sometimes starkly harsh guitar lines. Lately Dayna's come to favor adding slide guitar colors, and so much the better: her poetry has that much more to play against. Her live shows have become the stuff of legend - she's been known to bring loud crowded bars down to reverent silence by the end of her first song.

"...should she show up in your neighborhood for a live performance, by all means catch it. You won't be looking at your watch wondering if there's a polite way to make an exit.' - Music Reviews Quarterly

Postcards From Downtown

More Austin than Lucinda Williams and more southern than Shelby Lynne, Jersey girl Dayna Kurtz has waited a decade for this opportunity, and does she ever take advantage of it on the superb Postcards From Downtown. The kind of singer-songwriter that other troubadours swear by, Kurtz displays the full arsenal here. From the anguish-filled explosive bridge of »Miss Liberty« and the heartbreaking minor blues sound of the steamy »Last Good Taste« to the gorgeous waltz »Fred Astaire« and the intense goth/country ballad, »Just Like Jack,« Kurtz utilizes her dramatic, husky vocal range and gritty slide guitar playing to their fullest advantage. Though Postcards is her studio debut, Kurtz is hardly a new act. She was named the National Association of Songwriter's female songwriter of the year in 1997. How it's has taken five years since then for a label to realize her gifts is beyond a mystery. But, in this instance, later is truly better than never. Rolling Stone - (STEVE BALTIN)