Jo Lawry

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Jo Lawry (born 1978 or 1979 in Adelaide ) is an Australian jazz singer and singer-songwriter living in the USA .

Life

Lawry was born in the South Australian capital Adelaide. She is one of five children in a religious family, and parents made sure that their offspring were taught how to play instruments at an early age. Lawry grew up near the small town of Willunga , south of Adelaide , where her father owned an almond tree plantation . As a child she learned to play the piano and violin and was on stage at a performance of Les Misérables . Early musical influences came from the works of Tina Lawton , her aunt who died in a plane crash in 1968 at the age of 24 and who had achieved some notoriety as a folk singer .

Lawry began her musical education at the Elder Conservatory of Adelaide University in the classical field , but then turned to jazz, which she considers "more creative". With financial support, including a scholarship from the Fulbright Program , she moved to New York to finish her music studies . There she founded her own quintet and soon caught the attention of Bobby McFerrin or Fred Hersch , who invited her to join his band Pocket Orchestra .

Lawry teaches jazz singing classes at the Manhattan School of Music . She is married to the London- born saxophonist and composer Will Vinson. In November 2017, their daughter Ruby was born.

Musical creation

In the band of Sting

In 2009, on the recommendation of her friend Laila Biali , Lawry was invited to a casting as a background singer in the backing band of Sting and both were accepted. Originally only signed for a double appearance as part of the presentation of Sting's new album A Winter's Night in Durham Cathedral in September of that year, Lawry stayed with it permanently. After Sting found out about Lawry's abilities with the fiddle by chance , she got the opportunity to briefly use this instrument in Durham.

Lawry was also there on his next project, Symphonicities , together with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra , now as the only singer besides Sting. In the following years she was a permanent member of the backing band and quickly grew beyond the role she was assigned. Lawry got his own singing parts, in 2012 on the Back to Bass tour in a duet with Sting and, together with Peter Tickell, also with the fiddle. Lawry was also involved in creating the 2013 Sting album The Last Ship . It can be seen and heard in the recordings Live in Berlin from 2010, The Last Ship - Live at the Public Theater from 2013, and in the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom from the same year, which were also released as a concert film . In 2014/15 Lawry was on tour with Sting and Paul Simon .

Solo career

2008 came Lawrys first solo album I want to be happy on the market, mainly with jazz standards , folk - and cover songs . It was well received by music critics , and Down Beat counted it among the best CDs of the decade. Her second work, Taking Pictures , was published by the then 36-year-old in February 2015. It included her own pieces, which she presented herself with the guitar in live performances, supported by a small band. In the Sydney Morning Herald Lawry was praised in this context as "the finest jazz singer that Australia has produced" ( english the finest jazz vocalist Australia has produced) . At the same time, there was a stylistic change towards more pop-oriented music . Lawry named Kate Miller-Heidke and Katie Noonan as role models .

In August 2015, together with Karen Oberlin and Michael Winther, Waiting for the Angel was released , another jazz work on which the three texts by David Hajdu were interpreted by different artists. Another solo album followed in 2017 with The Bathtub and the Sea .

Discography

  • 2008: I want to be happy
  • 2015: Taking Pictures
  • 2015: Waiting for the Angel (with Karen Oberlin and Michael Winther)
  • 2017: The Bathtub and the Sea

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Patrick McDonald: Parky heads to Adelaide for movie-music themed concerts with ASO. The Advertiser, August 29, 2011, accessed August 31, 2019. (English)
  2. ^ Brian Zimmerman: Q&A with Jo Lawry: Discovery, Mastery and the Necessity of Wonder. Interview with Lawry in JazzIZ magazine on October 12, 2018, accessed on August 31, 2019. (English)
  3. ↑ a b Jo Lawry on the Manhattan School of Music website, accessed August 8, 2019. (English)
  4. ↑ Message with photo from December 5, 2017 on the Lawry's Facebook account, accessed on August 31, 2019. (English)
  5. ↑ New Year, New Website! Announcement dated December 29, 2017 on Lawry's website, accessed August 31, 2019. (English)
  6. ↑ To be seen in the concert film at the end of The Burning Babe .
  7. ↑ Michael Köhler: Back to the roots and to the bass. FAZ.NET , March 1, 2012, accessed on August 31, 2019. (English)
  8. ↑ John Shand: Jo Lawry review: Australia's finest jazz singer shows off her songwriting chops. Sydney Morning Herald, February 16, 2015, accessed August 7, 2019. (English)
  9. ↑ Waiting for the Angel on David Hajdu's website, accessed August 31, 2019. (English)
personal data
SURNAME Lawry, Jo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian jazz singer and singer-songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH 1978 or 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Adelaide , South Australia