Earth Voices (Empress Music Group)
Amanda Tosoff
Released January 2021
JAZZ FM 25 Best Jazz Albums of 2021
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mMww0OQdLcRXGbekC0qA1W6mHADOfOcL8
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6QHyaqpkhH0J0qqtd3AVRW?si=ergiikf4RHCBMODHbyzsMQ
About:
Merging the deep, powerful messages of poetry with adventurous modern jazz, Toronto-based pianist/composer Amanda Tosoff leads a hybrid ensemble with strings and seven rotating vocalists on Earth Voices, the follow-up to her Juno Award-nominated 2016 release Words (“a grand achievement” – CBC Radio). The album is being released by Empress Music Group, a label and company founded by award-winning vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow.
Earth Voices is Tosoff’s sixth album as a leader and the second to feature vocals. But whereas Words featured the marvelous singing of Felicity Williams straight through, Earth Voices adds six additional vocalists to the lineup in turn, each ideally suited to the song at hand. The compositions and orchestrations are sonorous, texturally rich, with a string quartet, guitarist Alex Goodman, and guest saxophonists Allison Au and Kelly Jefferson augmenting the lineup. The performances, full of eloquence and fire, are centered by Tosoff’s assured and lyrical pianism, revealing an artist at the peak of her powers.
Track Listing:
1. A Dream Within a Dream (Amanda Tosoff) 05:04
2. Sonnet 49 (Luciana Souza) 05:25
3. Here and Heaven (Stuart Duncan / Edgar Meyer / Aoife O’Donovan / Chris Thile) 05:20
4. Birdwings (Amanda Tosoff) 05:27
5. Oh, Life (Mike Ross) 06:14
6. The Fiddle and the Drum (Joni Mitchell) 06:26
7. To a Stranger (Amanda Tosoff) 05:59
8. Finis (Amanda Tosoff) 05:51
Personnel:
Amanda Tosoff: piano
Kelly Jefferson: tenor saxophone
Allison Au: alto saxophone
Alex Goodman: guitar
Jon Maharaj: bass
Morgan Childs: drums
Aline Homzy: violin
Jeremy Potts: violin
Beth Silver: cello
Laurence Schaufele: viola
Emilie-Claire Barlow: voice / vocals
Robin Dann: voice / vocals
Michelle Willis: voice / vocals
Laila Biali: voice / vocals
Lydia Persaud: voice / vocals
Felicity WIlliams: voice / vocals Alex Samaras: voice / vocals
Recorded at Revolution Recording
Engineered by David Hermiston
Mixed by David Hermiston
Mastered by João Carvalho
Produced by Amanda Tosoff and David Hermiston
Art: Sonia Beckwith
Review:
Five years after her Juno-nominated album Words, Amanda Tosoff delivers her latest blend of powerful words and beautiful music, this time with seven different vocalists. Felicity Wililams is in fine form, as always. Michelle Willis never disappoints, and she harmonizes splendidly with Alex Samaras. Lydia Persaud turns in a prize-worthy performance, and Robin Dann also nails it. Then there are the legends-in-the-making — Laila Biali and Emilie-Claire Barlow — who deliver their own incredible performances. With quality musicianship and a strong vision, Earth Voices is a marvelously poetic adventure that warrants repeated listening.
Jaymz Bee (JAZZ.FM91)
