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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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! ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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January 2010
Rick Kogan Interview on WGN
WGN's Rick Kogan interviews Andy and Petra about their new CD "Far Away Places" on his "The Sunday Papers" show.

March 2010
"This Is Chicago Jazz" Radio Show Interview "Far Away Places"
Mike Jeffers and Charley Krebs interview Petra about her new CD with guitarist Andy Brown "Far Away Places" on "This Is Chicago Jazz" March 23, 2010 Episode. Interview starts at minute 34.

January 2010
"Tones" Interview - "Far Away Places"
Petra and guitarist Andy Brown's 60 minute interview about their new CD "Far Away Places" on "Tones" with host Solitaire Miles on Blog Talk Radio.

June 2008
"Tones" Interview - "A Sweet Refrain"
Petra's 60 minute interview on "Tones" about her debut CD "A Sweet Refrain" with host Solitaire Miles on Blog Talk Radio.