Nancy Blue has about 50 songs completed, many of which are similar to “jazz standards”. One person described her song “Darn Good Things” as like a classic Holiday song (not lyrics but melody and chords). But now it’s a new time – she began the jazz focus in 2012, now she’s on to making an …
jazz
Writing through Synesthesia with Avery Raquel
Returning recently from Europe, where she performed, and earned her master’s degree in music from Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain, Canadian Billboard-charting recording artist and alternative Soul singer Avery Raquel has entertained audiences professionally for over a decade. She’s released 4 solo albums and two EPs now to critical acclaim. Her last self-titled …
Jazz Collaborators Alex Bird & Ewan Farncombe
Over the last few years, Alex Bird & Ewen Farncombe have become two of the biggest names on the Canadian Jazz scene. With praise from around the globe, this talented team has created timeless and heartfelt originals for a modern audience. They have produced something that is completely unique; three original albums in three years. …
Finding her own voice in Jazz: Nicky Schrire
Nicky Schrire is a British-South African vocalist and composer based in Toronto, Canada. Her work has seen her likened to vocalists Joni Mitchell and Esperanza Spalding with The Boston Globe’s Jon Garelick noting that “though her approach has earned her comparisons to Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens, the similarities are superficial. She’s got her own …
Keeping it simple (on purpose) with Jeremy Voltz
This week we welcomed the return of burned-out mathematician turned indie-soul artist, Jeremy Voltz with his new song, Like the Very First Time. Voltz’s music is inspired by thinking deeply about the people in his life and what he’d love to have the courage to say to them. Reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, Hozier, and Stevie …
Electro Jazz with Nabil Durzi & Michael Massaro and recording your library of songs
Nabil Durzi & Michael Massaro stopped by to talk about adding jazz to electro. We talked about: Phil’s Drumset update The drumset How do you record all your songs? How “finished” are they? Using a spreadsheet to keep tabs of your songs in progress Cakewalk gets left off of VST integrations Nabil, is a …
2nd Annual Songwriter Challenge: Listener Songs #2
This week we welcomed five more songwriters who sent us their answers to our latest songwriting challenge, to write a song with a single chord progression throughout. We got two protest songs, a song about social media, a rather tense relationship, and of course, COVID-19. We were so pleased to receive submissions from all over …
Tomato Tomato and How Writing Simple Songs Can Be Complicated
This week SongTalk welcomed John from Tomato Tomato to our virtual studio. They just might be Atlantic Canada’s most entertaining musical duo. The New Brunswick based pair – John and Lisa McLaggan – have built a reputation on a live show that is as much about their on-stage charisma as their musical multi-tasking and vocal …