Our Editor

image

Matthew Ruddick

Editor
Author of Funny Valentine, an acclaimed new biography of the jazz trumpet player and singer, Chet Baker.
  • 1
Saturday, 24 January 2015 18:48

Elizabeth Shepherd - The Signal

Written by 
    Authors Ranking: Authors Ranking
Rate this item
(0 votes)
Canadian musician returns with ambitious new album, The Signal

The Canadian jazz musician, Elizabeth Shepherd, returns with her fifth album, excluding her 2007 remix album, Besides. The Signal was released in North America in September last year, and has will be released in Europe next week.

Her music has never been easy to categorize. As a pianist, she claims to have been influenced by the likes of Bill Evans, Abdullah Ibrahim and Herbie Hancock, but the heavy use of Rhodes piano ensures that the sound of Hancock that comes across most clearly here. But soul and funk have also been an important part of her palette; her earlier CDs saw her cover the likes of Stevie Wonder, and she was championed by the influential UK DJ, Gilles Peterson, and featured on his Worldwide radio show.

2012’s Rewind was recorded while she was pregnant, and featured none of her own compositions. Instead, she focused on songs that was listening to at that time, and had influenced her over the years. Whilst the arrangements were fairly straightforward, she stamped her own authority on each tune, and was subsequently nominated for a Juno Award – Canada’s Grammy equivalent.

The Signal marks a significant departure. The album is harmonically and rhythmically far more complex, and as a consequence, is more challenging too. It is also more ambitious from a lyrical perspective, tacking a range of issues that matter to her as a woman and as a mother. 

The first half of the album is quite striking. The opening track, Willow, features African jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke – who has worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Gretchen Parlato. His guitar and chant combine well with the crisp sound of her keyboard, and the effect is spellbinding. What’s Happening is performed by her mainstay trio of Scott Kemp on bass and Colin Kingsmore on drums, and opens with a funky keyboard riff. The chorus is catchy, with Shepherd layering her vocals to good effect. B.T. Cotton opens with an excerpt of blues singer Lead Belly talking about picking cotton, before giving way to a cool bass line. The lyrics address the tough conditions in the Indian cotton industry in a subtle manner, never sounding preachy. 

The title track is based on a sample from a radio talk show, and is a duet featuring singer Alex Samaras. The lyrics describe an unconventional love story, a couple that agree to meet at a given time and place in the future, and is one of the album’s highlights.

Other songs on the album don’t work as well. The lyrics of Lion’s Den address the issue of child rape in Africa, but the music is less compelling, lacking a memorable hook. I Gave, a tribute to Mother Theresa, suffers from the same fate, and leaves the second half of the album somewhat patchy after a strong opening.

The press release makes comparisons with ‘crossover’ artists such as Robert Glasper and Esperanza Spalding, but in truth, The Signal is probably less commercial than her previous recording. It is, however, a bold and ambitious album, and when everything comes together, manages to be both cool and creative.

Read 3464 times

Our Contributors

image

Rob Mallows

London Jazz Meetup owner and fan of ‘plugged in’ jazz.
 
image

Simon Cooney

By day a full time Londoner in tv news. By night jazzaholic
 
image

Fernando Rose

I love my jazz and I bless the funk. I play percussion for all and sundry and go by @Mr Cool.
 
image

Grae Shennan

Laboratory scientist with a love of evolving music that defies boundaries. 
 
image

Hilary Robertson

Jazz-obsessed freelance writer and saxist.
 
image

Kim Cypher

Saxophonist, vocalist, composer, band leader and radio show presenter. Follows dreams and loves to celebrate great music and musicians.
 
image

Fiona Ross

Fiona is the founder of the award winning organisation Women in Jazz Media. She was the guest editor in chief for the 2020 edition of Jazz Quarterly and writes for many publications across the globe.
 
image

Wendy Kirkland

Jazz pianist and singer with wide musical tastes spanning latin through fusion to bebop and swing. Cat fanatic.
 
image

Elana Shapiro

From Manchester, currently living in Berlin. Lover of jazz, RnB, and soul inspired music.