The Sound Vault - Lisa Young Quartet

Lisa Young Quartet		visit: www.lisayoung.com.au email: mail@lisayoung.com.au
GRACE Cat# SV0540 Barcode 9324953002388
Track Listing 1. Grace 2. 'Cause I Weep 3. Sa Ri Ga 4. A Change of Plea 5. Freeflow 6. If We Be 7. Love After Love 8. Drifting 9. Mani's Samba 10. Self-Portrait 11. the Moon Has Made Other Plans 12. Overflow	Winner 'Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album 2007' at the Australian Jazz 'Bell' Awards! The awaited new release of the LISA YOUNG QUARTET combines song, story and the heritages of Jazz improvisation with Indian classical music (Konnakkol -vocal percussion- and raga based melodies) using lyrics and wordless pieces contributing a unique and innovative voice to Australian Contemporary Music. The compositions on 'Grace' represent Lisa's diverse musical journey. The wordless pieces provide a basis for ensemble dialogue reflecting Indian and African elements, while the works in song form express her soulful interpretation of contemporary life. In 1999 the Quartet produced the ARIA-nominated album 'Speak' via an Australia Council grant. Since then Lisa has been touring Europe, Canada and Asia with vocal group Coco's Lunch, whilst continuing to co-compose (with Robertson) a collection of new works for her own group. The jazz quartet is a collaboration with the talents of Steve Magnusson (Guitar), Ben Robertson (Double Bass) and Dave Beck (Drums).	Lisa has studied South Indian Classical Music (Ragas and Konnakkol) in Australia from 1994 with Ravi and Narmatha Ravichandra, and has twice travelled to India to pursue further studies. Her first visit was an Asialink residency to Mumbai and Chennai. Her second visit saw her returning to Chennai for advanced Konnakol studies with virtuoso mridangam player Karraikudi Mani. Lisa has been guest konnakkol artist for various Indian ensembles and continues to develop her unique expression of this artform. She remains in regular contact with Guru Mani and in 2006/07 the quartet has been invited to collaborate with him in Chennai, and also with esteemed Indian singer O. S. Arun. Lisa completed a Master of Music Performance (Voice) from the Victorian College of the Arts, which included a thesis in Konnakkol. In 2003 her composition 'Thulele Mama Ya' (with Coco's Lunch) won Best Folk/World Song in the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards in the USA.

Reviews
	Remarkable grace in amazing voice Jessica Nicholas, Reviewer Bennetts Lane Jazz Lab 30th June, 2007 Lisa Young Quartet What is the definition of "grace"? One answer, perhaps, is the serenity that comes with self-acceptance. It's a strongly appealing quality, and one that Lisa Young clearly embodies when she sings. It's also the title of her most recent CD, which won this year's Bell Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album. In many ways, Grace reflects the sum of Young's journey in life thus far - both musically and personally. Several songs reflect the satisfaction of finally knowing and accepting oneself, as in Love After Love (which opens with the lyric: The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door). On Saturday night, Young greeted a large crowd at Bennetts Lane and welcomed them warmly, offering two memorable sets with her quartet. Regular guitarist Steve Magnusson had injured his hand, so Geoff Hughes was called in at short notice to fill the guitar role. He did an admirable job in a difficult situation, negotiating Young's all-original repertoire and intricate arrangements with dexterity and poise.	Only about half Young's songs come with lyrics attached. Of these, Saturday's highlights included the aforementioned Love After Love and the exquisite Unity (performed as a heartfelt duet with acoustic bassist Ben Robertson). But many of the compositions we heard on Saturday contained no words at all. Here, Young's voice leapt, darted and soared wordlessly, interacting with her fellow musicians as an agile and extremely flexible instrument. There were frequent passages inspired by Young's fascination with Indian vocal percussion (or konnakol), where the voice imitates the rhythms of the double-headed mridangam drum. On The Moon Has Made Other Plans, she and drummer Dave Beck locked into a sequence of razor-sharp percussive syllables with incredible precision. And on Deep in Madras, the night's closing tune, the singer accompanied herself on aslatuas, swinging the small seed-filled balls around her wrists to mirror the joyful syncopation in her own, truly remarkable voice.
	THE AGE Green Guide December 14, 2006 LIVEWIRE NEW RELEASES Grace Lisa Young Sound Vault **** It's quite a few years since Lisa Young released her last recording as leader. In that time, she has worked in settings including the exciting a capella group Coco's Lunch. Here, with bassist Ben Robertson, guitarist Stephen Magnusson and drummer Dave Beck, she introduces the listener to new vistas. Check out the konnakkol., the Indian vocal percussion technique here flavoured by jazz. The strength of this album lies partly in her use of voice as instrument, partly in the sensitivity of the instrumentalists complementing and working in with her, answering her lines or bouncing off them. Imagine the voice stretched into various sounds that feel as if they are coming from a drum kit and you will get the idea. On the title track, at the start of the album, her voice works in with Beck as he keeps time to the staccato machine-gun-like rhythms of her wordless vocals before the rest move in. Or the way she beats out a rhythm against Magnusson's liquid lines on Sa Ri Ga. To be listened to and savoured. LEON GETTLER	"Young held the space effortlessly, scatting to the syncopated rhythms of the aslatuas…I looked around; the audience was transfixed" Jessica Nicholas The Age "The topography crosses Jazz, Indian and African terrain…. Young opens with the stunning solo machine-gun fire of wordless vocals where the rhythms are repeated, extended and then moved across the pulse….. electrifying" Leon Gettler 'Speak' review, The Age. 'a highly individual singer…her voice is rich and supple, and her singing is obviously informed by more than just jazz…the music is often at once earthy and delicate, melodic and abstract.' - Doug Spencer, 24 Hours.