All About Jazz called her music 鈥渕esmerizing.鈥�
鈥淪ubtle and captivating,鈥� says Montreal鈥檚 Mirror of her latest CD, while Detroit鈥檚 Real Weekly labels it 鈥渟uperb.鈥�
This Sunday, you鈥檒l be able to add your own superlatives when Elizabeth Shepherd performs in Courtenay.
Presented by the Georgia Straight Jazz Society and exclaim.ca, the singer/songwriter/pianist is touring to celebrate the release of her Heavy Falls the Night CD. With 20 stops in her 23-day tour, we're very fortunate to host this wonderful artist.
Shepherd is among Canada's most promising young talents and she has the widespread critical acclaim to prove it.
She arrived on the international scene when her debut album was voted one of the top three jazz albums of 2007 by the listeners of The Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio 3. Rave reviews greeted her first two studio albums and her performances at prestigious venues like Tokyo鈥檚 Cotton Club, London's Jazz Caf茅 and the Hollywood Bowl.
Shepherd鈥檚 debut recording Start To Move (2006) and followup Parkdale (2008) were both Juno-nominated and described as 鈥減ushing the boundaries of jazz.鈥� With the release of her stunning third album Heavy Falls the Night, she pushes well past those boundaries to carve out her own niche of smart, sophisticated and adventurous music.
Shepherd鈥檚 explorations are as successful as they are unexpected. She has collaborated with a Japanese DJ, a Canadian poet, and an Afrobeat producer. She writes songs for the dance floor. She transforms a twangy '70s hit into a moving soul recording.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of this recording because it鈥檚 honest and the one that comes closest to my voice, to my heart,鈥� she says.
Produced by Shepherd herself, Heavy Falls the Night features some of Canada鈥檚 finest players, including longtime collaborators bassist Scott Kemp and drummer Colin Kingsmore, both of whom will appear with her in Courtenay.
Shepherd鈥檚 music takes the listener on a dynamic musical ride. Jazz, souljazz, popjazz, it鈥檚 hard to give it a single label. From the energetic Seven Bucks to the 11/8 time of The Taking or the supremely soulful reworking of Anne Murray's '70s soft-rock radio staple Danny's Song, she鈥檚 sure to surprise and please.
The Indies, for their 11th annual Independent Music Awards, have nominated Shepherd for Jazz Artist of the Year. This Grammys-of-the-Indie scene, the closing party of Canadian Music Week, has quickly become a media flashpoint and major trolling ground for music fans and tastemakers searching for the next wave of music superstars.
From AllAboutJazz.com: "...unlike many vocalists, Shepherd is a rhythmic singer who feels the rhythm of the earth in her whole being and makes music to its pulse. Perhaps this is why her emotions are so authentic and almost palpable when she sings. And this is also why she can pull off a wonderful tribute to another great vocalist in A Song for Dinah Washington.
Elizabeth Shepherd will appear in concert March 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Elks鈥� Hall on Sixth Street in Courtenay. Tickets are $12 for Jazz Society members, $16 for non-members, available at Bop City (211 Simms, Courtenay), Comox Videos 'n' More (Comox Road at Anderton), and at Thursday Jazz Club at the Elks.
鈥� Georgia Straight Jazz Society
