JULIET WOOD - Out of Nowhere
Every now and again something special comes along, something that excites the mind and stimulates the senses, and once again something special has come along with Sconsolato, the debut album from vocalist Juliet Wood. A superb album with some seriously good arrangements of well-loved songs, and a few lesser known gems from an artist that has seemingly appeared out of nowhere. So just who is Juliet Wood, and where has she sprung from? Nick Lea catches up with the vocalist to find out a little more.
"I’ve always spent much of my time singing" explains Juliet. "When I was a teenager, I earned my pocket money singing in folk clubs and restaurants. University and a career as an architect put the solo singing on a back burner, although I carried on singing in small vocal ensembles, where I like being in the thick of the harmony. I’ve always loved listening to Jazz - I used to play alto sax very badly in my twenties. Some years ago, I started working part time, so that I could take classes in jazz singing and theory and eventually decided to have a sabbatical from my 'day job' to work on the album. I guess I waited until I felt I could put something together that I could be proud of! "
Continuing Juliet adds "Sconsolato is a collaboration with three instrumentalists that I greatly respect, and really enjoy singing with. When I was picking songs for this project I thought about tunes where I felt that John Crawford on piano, bassist Andrés Lafone and percussionist Andrés Ticino, would add something special. Their rhythms can drive the arc of the song forward and transform it, but still leave a feeling of space."
This empathy with the trio is apparent from the outset as the music on the album has an effortless flow as if the musicians had been working together for some considerable time. Juliet takes up the story, "I met John, Andrés and Andrés through Clare Foster. I first met them at a workshop she arranged about combining Latin rhythms with Jazz standards. Clare is very knowledgeable about Brazilian music and loves to play with the vibe and rhythm of a song. After that, I sung with them at various local gigs that Clare organised.
After one of Clare’s gigs, John said 'You should record those' and that gave me the confidence to go ahead. Some of the arrangements on the album evolved over the years that I’d been singing them, but we hadn’t played a few of the songs all together until the day of the recording.
"There were a handful of songs that I knew I had to do", says Juliet 'Sconsolato' and 'Midnight Sun' for example. I also wanted to include some slightly obscure songs, that people might not have heard before. Half of the songs were written as tunes for big bands or larger ensembles, and then the lyrics were added later. I think they have more complex chord structures and harmonies which appeal to me."
"I’ve always spent much of my time singing" explains Juliet. "When I was a teenager, I earned my pocket money singing in folk clubs and restaurants. University and a career as an architect put the solo singing on a back burner, although I carried on singing in small vocal ensembles, where I like being in the thick of the harmony. I’ve always loved listening to Jazz - I used to play alto sax very badly in my twenties. Some years ago, I started working part time, so that I could take classes in jazz singing and theory and eventually decided to have a sabbatical from my 'day job' to work on the album. I guess I waited until I felt I could put something together that I could be proud of! "
Continuing Juliet adds "Sconsolato is a collaboration with three instrumentalists that I greatly respect, and really enjoy singing with. When I was picking songs for this project I thought about tunes where I felt that John Crawford on piano, bassist Andrés Lafone and percussionist Andrés Ticino, would add something special. Their rhythms can drive the arc of the song forward and transform it, but still leave a feeling of space."
This empathy with the trio is apparent from the outset as the music on the album has an effortless flow as if the musicians had been working together for some considerable time. Juliet takes up the story, "I met John, Andrés and Andrés through Clare Foster. I first met them at a workshop she arranged about combining Latin rhythms with Jazz standards. Clare is very knowledgeable about Brazilian music and loves to play with the vibe and rhythm of a song. After that, I sung with them at various local gigs that Clare organised.
After one of Clare’s gigs, John said 'You should record those' and that gave me the confidence to go ahead. Some of the arrangements on the album evolved over the years that I’d been singing them, but we hadn’t played a few of the songs all together until the day of the recording.
"There were a handful of songs that I knew I had to do", says Juliet 'Sconsolato' and 'Midnight Sun' for example. I also wanted to include some slightly obscure songs, that people might not have heard before. Half of the songs were written as tunes for big bands or larger ensembles, and then the lyrics were added later. I think they have more complex chord structures and harmonies which appeal to me."
One of the highlights of the album is a stunning arrangement of Billy Strayhorn's 'Chelsea Bridge' with it's beautiful wordless vocal, a song that very nearly didn't make the final selection. "I’d read somewhere that Billy Strayhorn had been inspired to write Chelsea bridge when he saw a painting by Whistler, called 'Nocturne Blue and Gold'. It’s a beautiful image of an old wooden bridge over the Thames seen at dusk, with all these misty shades of blue," says Juliet. "I decided to write some lyrics for the tune that described the painting, and those colours. You need permission to add lyrics to someone else’s tune, so we contacted the UK rights holders. They checked the lyrics and said it was alright, but a couple of days later they got in touch again. The UK rights were about to revert to the original owners, the Strayhorn estate, so they had to check with them. We still hadn’t heard back by the day of the recording, but we decided to take a chance and record the song with the lyrics. A few days later we had a polite email from Billy Strayhorn’s niece, to say that they don’t allow any lyrics to be added to his melodies. I still wanted to include the tune, so we decided to keep the instrumental tracks and scrap the vocal that we’d recorded. I wasn’t initially confident that I could be convincing with no lyrics at all, but overdubbing the vocals allowed us to overlap the lines, and I’m pleased with the final version."
During our conversation, Juliet's admiration and genuine affection for fellow vocalist, Clare Foster, is obvious and when discussing those that her influenced her in her career the immediate reply is "I like to hear singers with honesty in the way they tell a story. Clare has been a mentor to me. She has a fantastic fluidity in her improvising, and she’s written some inspired lyrics to instrumental tunes. For her first CD she added lyrics to 11 Wayne Shorter songs. We used Clare’s lyrics to 'Voyage - Journey Within' - from her album Believing in Angels.
Another thing that appeals to me is people using the voice as an instrument. When I first heard Lambert Hendricks and Ross’s Sing a Song of Basie it was a revelation - how those big band sounds could be recreated just with voices, in such a joyful way. I also love Norma Winstone’s songs, and her work with Kenny Wheeler where they were using the voice as another instrument, a part of the horn section."
Reflecting on her current listening, she adds, "I guess my tastes are eclectic, and I go through phases in my listening. At the moment, I enjoy listening to things with a calmness to them. Small choral ensembles, either renaissance music or twentieth century pieces by Tallis, Britten and Pärt, but I miss out all the eras in between! I’ve also been listening again to John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - fluid lines and lots of space, and Norma Winstone’s Manhattan in the Rain is a perennial favourite."
The current pandemic and Lockdown have had a devastating effect for musicians, so I asked Juliet how she was coping with the restrictions? "We would normally go out to a live gig at least a couple of times a week, and I’m really missing that", says the singer. "We are fortunate to have some great venues nearby, but I fear for the future of our music venues - especially the smaller places. One of the last gigs I went to, before we all had to stay home, was Norma Winstone with John Parricelli and Huw Warren at the Vortex. So memorable! I’ve enjoyed watching live streams from Liane Carroll, Sara Coleman, and Sophie Bancroft with Tom Lyne - but it’s not the same as being at a gig.
One good thing is that I’m listening to more radio shows and podcasts, and discovering some great music I didn’t know before, and I’ve just bought Turas by Fergus McCreadie’s Trio.
"A few months ago, it seemed a good idea to delay our album launch until May, because that worked around everyone’s tour & travel commitments! Now, with no chance of arranging a launch gig in the near future, I’ve been experimenting with making some videos. It’s something I’ve rather shied away from before, but it is a way of getting some tunes out there. I’m fortunate to be in lockdown with my sound-engineer husband, Greg Dowling. Using some recordings that he’s previously made at live gigs. He’s made me some backing tracks to use in the videos. I also joined a low-key live stream event last week. It was all quite complicated to set up, but I guess we will have to get used to all this."
And plans for the future? "I’m beginning to put together a collection of songs by - or influenced by - Duke Ellington. There’s a lot to choose from! His long collaboration with Billy Strayhorn produced such fabulous melodies and arrangements. And I’d love to sing with a big band one day!
During our conversation, Juliet's admiration and genuine affection for fellow vocalist, Clare Foster, is obvious and when discussing those that her influenced her in her career the immediate reply is "I like to hear singers with honesty in the way they tell a story. Clare has been a mentor to me. She has a fantastic fluidity in her improvising, and she’s written some inspired lyrics to instrumental tunes. For her first CD she added lyrics to 11 Wayne Shorter songs. We used Clare’s lyrics to 'Voyage - Journey Within' - from her album Believing in Angels.
Another thing that appeals to me is people using the voice as an instrument. When I first heard Lambert Hendricks and Ross’s Sing a Song of Basie it was a revelation - how those big band sounds could be recreated just with voices, in such a joyful way. I also love Norma Winstone’s songs, and her work with Kenny Wheeler where they were using the voice as another instrument, a part of the horn section."
Reflecting on her current listening, she adds, "I guess my tastes are eclectic, and I go through phases in my listening. At the moment, I enjoy listening to things with a calmness to them. Small choral ensembles, either renaissance music or twentieth century pieces by Tallis, Britten and Pärt, but I miss out all the eras in between! I’ve also been listening again to John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - fluid lines and lots of space, and Norma Winstone’s Manhattan in the Rain is a perennial favourite."
The current pandemic and Lockdown have had a devastating effect for musicians, so I asked Juliet how she was coping with the restrictions? "We would normally go out to a live gig at least a couple of times a week, and I’m really missing that", says the singer. "We are fortunate to have some great venues nearby, but I fear for the future of our music venues - especially the smaller places. One of the last gigs I went to, before we all had to stay home, was Norma Winstone with John Parricelli and Huw Warren at the Vortex. So memorable! I’ve enjoyed watching live streams from Liane Carroll, Sara Coleman, and Sophie Bancroft with Tom Lyne - but it’s not the same as being at a gig.
One good thing is that I’m listening to more radio shows and podcasts, and discovering some great music I didn’t know before, and I’ve just bought Turas by Fergus McCreadie’s Trio.
"A few months ago, it seemed a good idea to delay our album launch until May, because that worked around everyone’s tour & travel commitments! Now, with no chance of arranging a launch gig in the near future, I’ve been experimenting with making some videos. It’s something I’ve rather shied away from before, but it is a way of getting some tunes out there. I’m fortunate to be in lockdown with my sound-engineer husband, Greg Dowling. Using some recordings that he’s previously made at live gigs. He’s made me some backing tracks to use in the videos. I also joined a low-key live stream event last week. It was all quite complicated to set up, but I guess we will have to get used to all this."
And plans for the future? "I’m beginning to put together a collection of songs by - or influenced by - Duke Ellington. There’s a lot to choose from! His long collaboration with Billy Strayhorn produced such fabulous melodies and arrangements. And I’d love to sing with a big band one day!
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For more information and to purchase Sconsolato by Juliet Wood visit julietwood.com
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