6th October 2022: Announcing the signing of vocalist Jo Lawry and her debut Whirlwind release ‘Acrobats’ – feat Linda May Han Oh and Allison Miller – dropping FEB 2023
Photo by: Erika Kapin Photography
We are thrilled to announce the signing of vocalist Jo Lawry and her debut Whirlwind release Acrobats will drop on February 10, 2023. Her chord-less trio record also features bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Allison Miller.
Lawry says: “I had been wanting for a few years to explore the challenge of recording an album without chordal instruments, and was excited about the freedom and challenges it would present. From the first downbeat, it was clear I had chosen the perfect partners for this project. Linda and Allison made every moment of recording the album a delight, supporting and pushing me to sing in a way I never had before.”
Stay tuned for tour dates, more info and pre-order links.
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ABOUT THE ALBUM
Australian vocalist Jo Lawry has forged an impressive solo career with a global fan base, while
earning deep respect as a ‘musician’s singer’ within and beyond jazz circles. She’s also spent nearly a
decade performing and recording with Sting and has worked with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. The
two albums she released as a singer/songwriter/producer, Taking Picture (2015) and The Bathtub
and the Sea (2017) garnered critical acclaim. Now, more than 10 years since her last solo jazz album,
Lawry presents Acrobats, unequivocally returning to the genre alongside globally in-demand bassist
Linda May Han Oh and versatile drummer Allison Miller.
Acrobats is a playful album embodying both the freedom and exquisite complexity of jazz. The
genesis for the project came about by Lawry setting herself a challenge: “I thought, what is the
hardest thing I could do? And the answer was a trio album: voice, bass and drums, where I'm trying
to function like a horn player and we’re providing the whole landscape without the benefit of
chords.”
The Frank Loesser composition ‘Travelling Light’ opens the album with Lawry immediately in
command, while the exceptional drum and bass team of Oh and Miller seamlessly provide the strong
anchor, priming the listener’s ear for this absorbing trio format. The title track ‘Acrobats’ is by Gian
Slater, a fellow Australian and a close friend of Lawry’s. “’Acrobats’ encapsulates the idea of the
agility we want to play with and the trust we need to catch and support each other,” Lawry explains.
She reworks the standard ‘Taking a Chance on Love’, weaving in some Coltrane-esque harmony,
while Cole Porter’s ‘You’re The Top’ begins with some standout brushwork from Miller. ‘Deed I Do’
neatly demonstrates the spirit of the whole record with its sense of risky playfulness. ‘You’re The
Voice’ is a John Farnham hit “woven deeply into our DNA as Australians” says Lawry, “it’s part of the
soundtrack to my childhood.” ‘Takes Two to Tango’ is a duet with Oh, in which the bassist delivers a
captivating performance. ‘32 East 32 nd Street’ is a Lennie Tristano tune that Lawry explores
wordlessly before Frank Loesser’s ‘My Time of Day’ and ‘I’ve Never Been in Love Before’ bring the
record to a close. “’I’ve Never Been in Love Before’ is a well-known jazz standard,” says Lawry, “but
what I have always absolutely adored is the vignette, ‘My Time of Day’ that precedes it in ‘Guys and
Dolls’. It’s a song that has been in my head for 30 years as one of the most extraordinary melodies
I’ve ever heard.”
Lawry reflects, “This is the most playful and adventurous that I’ve been in the studio, and that’s
down to the alchemy of this particular combination of people.” The innate interconnectivity and
trust between the members of this trio is palpable, much like a troupe of acrobats, and, as Lawry
says, “you need to have people that you know are going to catch you.” Collaboration and agility are
at the core of this bold new record from three highly esteemed musicians, led by the visionary Lawry
who presents this unconventional and inspired addition to the vocal jazz canon.
JO LAWRY BIO
Jo Lawry grew up on an almond farm in South Australia and, after a brief flirtation with operatic study, began her formal instruction in jazz. Her debut album as a leader, I Want to Be Happy, was named one of the “Best CDs of the Decade” by Downbeat Magazine. She has been featured as a guest on numerous modern jazz recordings; stand-outs include Dr. Lonnie Smith’s album Rise Up! and Kate McGarry’s Grammy-nominated If Less is More… Nothing is Everything. She is also the vocalist for the Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra, a quartet whose album, Live at Jazz Standard was released on Sunnyside Records.
Jo has become well-known beyond jazz circles for her work with Sting, with whom she has toured and recorded since 2009, and more recently with Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel. In 2013, Jo was featured in the film 20 Feet From Stardom, which chronicled the lives and careers of “the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century” and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
During the 17 years Jo lived in New York, she also led her own band, and released an album of originals, Taking Pictures, in March 2015, to critical acclaim. The follow-up, The Bathtub and the Sea was released in 2018. She has taught at New England Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music and has worked extensively with Carnegie Hall as a featured artist in their ‘Musical Connections’ program. Jo currently leads the Equity in Jazz program at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a program designed to encourage and support women and gender diverse musicians into a career in jazz through dedicated leadership, music development and mentorship.
“Jo Lawry numbers among our favorite discoveries of the past year.”
Time Out New York
“She has a gift for the music of words, a feel for the stories they tell and an instinct for how to drape a lyric elegantly across a vivid melody… Lawry, effervescent and riveting, imbued her singing with a freedom.”
Sydney Morning Morning Herald
“Singer of dazzling self-possession.”
New York Times