REVIEWS, PRESS RELEASE, and BIO for Lissy Walker's Life Is Sweet 'A sheer delight from start to finish. Walker purrs, coos and swaggers sultrily through The Great American songbook...beautiful.' ~The Absolute Sound 'Jazz, folk, and country are fused beautifully on Lissy walker's debut album...
Emotional, lovely, dreamy, sweet...
Lissy's vocals are simply beautiful.' ~Jazz Times '...distinctive and emotive...a singer to watch-and to listen-for...' ~All About Jazz '...an eclectic riff on the vocal jazz tradition...' ~The Examiner Review by Wilbert Sostre, JazzTimes May 3, 2010 Musicians: Lissy Walker (vocals), John R. Burr (piano), Scott Nygaard (guitar), Jon Evans (bass), Scott Amendola (drums), Steven Bernstein (trumpet, Philip Worman (cello), Dave Ellis (sax) Is Lissy Walker a jazz singer with folk influences? Or is she a folk singer with jazz influences? Who cares, as long as she is good. And Lissy Walker is really good. Jazz, folk and country music are fused beautifully on Lissy Walker's debut album, Life is Sweet. Lissy moves convincingly among these music genres with her sweet voice and deeply emotional interpretations. Life is Sweet starts with the classy arrangement of the Johnny Mercer I Remember You. Lissy shows her jazzy side on this one, singing behind the beat, a phrasing style used by Billie Holiday and other great jazz singers. The arrangement of Irving Berlin's How Deep is the Ocean is definitely jazz but with a touch of country. Lissy's phrasing although show some country influences but the bluesy piano fills and solos by John Burr are pure jazz. I love how Lissy plays with the melodies on Waters of March. I must have heard a hundred versions of this Jobim classic, both English and Portuguese, but this is without a doubt one of my favorites English versions. I have never been a big fan of country music, but Lissy might change my mind with her wonderful interpretation of What'll I Do, I Wish You Love and In The Wee Small Hours. Emotional, lovely, dreamy, sweet, Lissy vocals are simply beautiful. With folk vocals and arrangements and a ragtime piano, Let Me Go reminds me at times of the music of Madeleine Peyroux. Moonbeam Song and Celluloid Heroes are also folk songs, but this time the arrangements and Lissy's phrasing are reminiscent of one of my favorites folk bands and singer, Margo Timmins of the Cowboys Junkies. Nothing country or folk about More Than You Know and Irving Berlin's Isn't This A Lovely Day. The arrangements and vocals sound like classic old jazz, proving Lissy and her band really can swing. There is a gospel feel in John Burr piano playing and Lissy soulful vocals on Saturday Sun, adding yet another influence to Lissy Walker impressive debut album. Review by Bruce Lindsay, AllAboutJazz May 13, 2010 Life Is Sweet is the debut from Berkeley, California-based vocalist Lissy Walker. In an increasingly crowded pool of female jazz singers it's important to stand out from the norm: two things about Life Is Sweet ensure that Walker can do that. Firstly, there is Walker's song selection-a tasteful and unusual mix of standards and more left-field but high quality tunes. Secondly, there's her voice-a subtle but unmistakable hint of country music gives it a distinctive and emotive quality. At times, it's fragility suggests a slight lack of confidence-a pity, because Walker has much to feel confident about. Walker's band helps things along, too. The core quartet is consistently good, while the guest musicians, especially cellist Philip Worman, add just the right touches with their performances. Any singer who records standards from the Great American Songbook needs to bring something new to their interpretations, and the album's opening tune, Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger's 'I Remember You,' shows that Walker can do just that. The arrangement, by pianist John R Burr, features a delicate trumpet part from Steven Bernstein and propulsive but light drums from Scott Amendola. Walker's vocal hangs back a little, resisting Amendola's invitation to hurry along and, instead, creating a relaxed, almost
