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"If it's got a beat
It's love
If it's love
Let it be free
And I won't step back
I got a whole lot of unspoken things that I'll show you
in time
When you take my hand pull me down into the night I feel
So high"
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There's nothing like a little heartbreak and the hunger
for love in all the right places to get the creative juices
flowing. Love, betrayal, and finally freedom inform and
inspire Jenifer Jackson's new album, So High. Her songs
are full of deep emotion, desire, and hope, and they're
performed to perfection. Longtime fans of her first two
albums, Slowly bright (1999) and Birds (2001), will immediately
recognize a newfound confidence in her work. As Pure Music.com
put it, "The way she sings makes the most cynical
dreamer want to fall in love again, the high risk notwithstanding."
Jenifer Jackson is a singer's singer and
a writer's writer. She's that rare breed of performer
who knows that emoting for the sake of pyrotechnics has
little to do with truly delivering a song. On Jenifer's
Bar/None debut, she smolders and she soars. So High is
a terrific mix of her own compositions, from finely crafted
pop ("The Power Of Love") to '60s-flavored folk-rock
("Down So Low") with a surprising and very satisfying
detour into Philly-style soul ("Got To Have You").
"I'm a big fan of D'Angelo, Curtis
Mayfield, Marvin Gaye," explains Jenifer. "
I could always sing slow groove stuff like that, but I'd
never tried writing songs in that vein until now. The
band was so hot and groovy and it all came together so
naturally."
The album features a stellar lineup of
musicians that includes long-time New York City compatriots
Oren Bloedow (guitar) and Joey Barbato (piano/accordion).
This time around they're joined by drummer G. Wiz, fresh
from New Orleans, and bassist Pat Sansone, a former Nashvillian.
Pat also produced the album coming up with a lot of the
remarkable sonic ideas. Much of the work was done last
summer in singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur's Manhattan
studio, where Pat and Jenifer had the luxury of experimenting
while Arthur was out on the road.
"It made the process so much fun
because we weren't watching the clock," Jenifer reveals.
"Not having time constraints really freed up our
creativity. And it was air-conditioned."
So High caps a year of great productivity
for Jenifer. She composed the score for the indie film
Daydream Believer, and cut an album of jazz duets with
her dad called Together In Time. (One listen to Pop Jackson's
take on "Route 66" and you'll know where she
gets her pipes). She co-wrote songs with Austin's Troy
Campbell and with Swan Dive for their album June (Compass).
She co-starred off-off-Broadway with Rosie Perez in the
play Brooklyn Bridge. In past years she's collaborated
with Medeski Martin & Wood, appeared on various Manhattan
stages as part of the Loser Lounge musical tribute series,
recorded a "lost" album produced by Wreckless
Eric in France (don't ask) and toured the USA dueting
with Jules Shear.
Now, sit back, relax, and turn on to So
High.
CONTACT:
Traci Thomas/Grassroots Media (615) 340-9596 traci@grassrootsmedia.com
800 18th Ave. S., Suite B Nashville, TN 37203
www.grassrootsmedia.com
Mark Lipsitz/Bar None Records (201) 770-9090
markl@bar-none.com
PO Box 1704 Hoboken, NJ, 07030
www.bar-none.com
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