carmanj72
Best of 2021. A bold artistic statement: beautiful orchestrations, amazing compositions, and an all-star cast of musicians. A deep listening experience that rewards revisiting! Love it!
Favorite track: Oh, Life (feat. Laila Biali & Alex Samaras).
aimeejobenoitfan
Oh Life.
What a dreamscape created by Amanda Tosoff's mercurial composition. Float away but stay on the ground.
Favorite track: Oh, Life (feat. Laila Biali & Alex Samaras).
Emilie-Claire Barlow (voice)
Alex Goodman (guitar)
Amanda Tosoff (piano)
Jon Maharaj (bass)
Morgan Childs (drums)
about
Merging the deep, powerful messages of poetry with adventurous modern jazz, Toronto-based pianist/composer Amanda Tosoff leads a hybrid ensemble with strings and seven rotating vocalists on Earth Voices, the follow-up to her Juno Award-nominated 2016 release Words (“a grand achievement” – CBC Radio). The album is being released by Empress Music Group, a label and company founded by award-winning vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow.
Earth Voices is Tosoff’s sixth album as a leader and the second to feature vocals. But whereas Words featured the marvelous singing of Felicity Williams straight through, Earth Voices adds six additional vocalists to the lineup in turn, each ideally suited to the song at hand. The compositions and orchestrations are sonorous, texturally rich, with a string quartet, guitarist Alex Goodman, and guest saxophonists Allison Au and Kelly Jefferson augmenting the lineup. The performances, full of eloquence and fire, are centered by Tosoff’s assured and lyrical pianism, revealing an artist at the peak of her powers.
credits
released January 29, 2021
ARTISTS:
Featuring the voices of:
Emilie-Claire Barlow, Laila Biali, Michelle Willis, Lydia Persaud, Robin Dann, Felicity Williams, and Alex Samaras
INSTRUMENTALISTS:
Kelly Jefferson (soprano sax), Allison Au (alto sax), Amanda Tosoff (piano), Alex Goodman (guitar), Jon Maharaj (bass), Morgan Childs (drums), Aline Homzy (violin), Jeremy Potts (violin), Laurence Schaufele (viola) Beth Silver (cello)
POETRY:
Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, Rumi, Pablo Neruda and Marjorie Pickthall
COVERS:
Track 6 - Joni Mitchell
Track 5 - Mike Ross (Soulpepper Theatre)
Track 3 - Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan, Aoife O'Donovan (from Yo-Yo Ma’s Goat Rodeo Sessions project)
All arrangements by Amanda Tosoff
ART
Sonia Beckwith
OTHER CREDITS:
Recorded at Revolution Recording
Engineered by David Hermiston
Mixed by David Hermiston
Mastered by João Carvalho
Produced by Amanda Tosoff and David Hermiston
Jazz pianist, composer and educator, Amanda Tosoff has gained recognition as an assured, forward-thinking voice on the
Canadian jazz scene and beyond. In Amanda’s artistry, one hears a rigorous, deeply felt command of the jazz piano lineage as well as an eagerness to push beyond labels, finding inspiration from various sources and disciplines, as is most evident on her Juno-nominated CD "Words."...more
Inventive and creative solo bass pieces showcasing Dan's beautiful tone and impeccable technique! Comes with the scores for any bass nerds out there. Highly recommend. Amanda Tosoff
I love Emile-Claire's inventive arrangements & orchestrations. Her voice and interpretations, the band's performances, and the lush sounds of the orchestra are gorgeous! Highly recommend this album! Amanda Tosoff
Backed by a trio of jazz musicians, the Taiwanese singer-songwriter develops physical landscapes as a vehicle for stunning sound poetry. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 3, 2024