|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| French Canadian artist, Émilie Samson - An Introvert's Dream Born in Montreal, Québec, Émilie Samson is a French Canadian jazz vocalist, composer, and educator based in New York City. She completed her bachelor's degree in Jazz Performance at McGill University before she relocated to New York after receiving a scholarship to pursue a Master's degree at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music where she studied voice with Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry and Jo Lawry. Her Debut EP An Introvert's Dream. The EP is a collection of original songs and arrangements she wrote after moving to the Big Apple. In her arrangements, she takes the essence of a song and tells the story from a modern perspective, putting forward the timelessness of the Great American Songbook. Her eclectic repertoire also includes pop songs such as her first single, "Wouldn't it Be Nice" by the Beach Boys, French songs and Brazilian songs. No matter the style, Emilie will make the piece her own by re-imagining it as if it was her composition. As a composer, her writing is more introspective, showing a different side of her personality. In Montreal, Émilie was active both on the jazz and classical scenes, leading her own group in jazz clubs and singing in different classical and contemporary choruses. In New York, Émilie is an active performer and she has connected with audiences in many venues including The 55 Bar, Harlem Stage, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. ABOUT An Introvert's Dream is a collection of original songs and arrangements written by Emilie Samson. In her debut EP, she wants to showcase her abilities as an arranger, composer and vocalist. This EP is self-released and came together after she moved to New York city. TRACK NAMES 1. If You Never Come to Me (composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, english lyrics by Ray Gilbert, arr. Emilie Samson) Emilie fell in love with the intricate harmony of the piece and the poetic lyrics. She experimented with the orchestration at the very beginning and wrote a soli to complete her rendition of this piece. The song features a solo by Keegan Riley on the Flugelhorn. 2 . Nobody's Heart (Belongs to Me) (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart, arr. Emilie Samson) This song was written for the musical "By Jupiter" and Emilie re-imagined the song as a swing, giving the lyrics a different perspective. This song features Robinson de Montmollin on bass and Phil McNeal on drums. 3. Wouldn't It Be Nice (Brian Wilson/Tony Asher, arr. Emilie Samson) According to Brian Wilson, "[the song] expresses the frustration of youth, what you can't have, what you really want and you have to wait for it." While the song was originally written from a young, almost child-like perspective, Emilie could relate to those lyrics as a young adult. She wrote a dreamy arrangement, focusing on the hopefulness and the longing nature of the lyrics and giving it a more mature perspective. This piece has a larger group including Alec Aldred, Seth Weaver and Rico Jones, and features Robinson De Montmollin on piano. 4. La Belle Dame Sans Regrets (Sting/Dominic Miller, Vocalese by Emilie Samson) As a French Canadian, Emilie is always looking to expand her repertoire in French. She discovered this song as she was working with her mentor Jo Lawry, who sang backup vocals for Sting for seven years. Jo Lawry suggested she should sing this piece, and the piano solo by Kenny Kirkland really landed itself to a vocalese (adding words to an instrumental solo). Emilie wrote the lyrics of the vocalese with her own story in mind, talking about a woman who moved and started over somewhere else, fearlessly leaving her past behind, which is what Emilie did when she moved to NYC. The song also features Sean Burke on the bass. 5. An Introvert's Dream (Emilie Samson) An Introvert's Dream is the title track and the only composition on this album. It is a modal composition that she wrote while studying with David Liebman and Phil Markowitz. The title comes from the fact that introverts are notorious for being introspective and being an introvert herself, she recreated the dialogue between the different voices in an introvert's mind. This composition features Keegan Riley on Flugelhorn and Robinson De Montmollin on piano. PERSONNEL Emilie Samson - Voice, arrangements, composition (track 5) Robinson De Montmollin - Piano Sean Burke - Bass Phil McNeal - Drums Keegan Riley - Flugelhorn (tracks 1 and 5) Alec Aldred - Trumpet (track 3) Seth Weaver - Trombone (track 3) Rico Jones - Tenor Saxophone (track 3) Recorded by Alessio Romano and Brandon Unpingco at Studio 42 Brooklyn Mixed and mastered by Alessio Romano. write your comments about the article :: © 2020 Jazz News :: home page |