One time, a few years ago, a good friend of mine called me up and asked if I wanted to head over to The Rex (a popular jazz bar in Toronto) to hear someone named Elizabeth Shepherd. Since I love jazz and am rarely doing anything, I took him up on the offer. To be more specific, it was the Elizabeth Shepherd Trio, featuring ES on vocals and piano, and a couple dudes on drums and bass. Even though I'm generally more inclined to instrumental jazz, it was a fantastic show, one of the best I've seen.
For some reason, though, I never followed up on the trio, never searched for their recordings, never found the schedule of more live shows, and quickly forgot about the concert.
That's not the end of the story, of course. No doubt you've already guessed I recently re-discovered the Elizabeth Shepherd Trio. But I bet you can't guess how I once again came across their music.
No?
Okay, I'll tell you. It was on Air Canada. Yep. Air Canada apparently has this new media device - a touch-screen built into the back of the headrest in front of you that offers up movies, TV and music. Unfortunately but not unexpectedly, the music selection is pretty soft-rock/adult contemporary, but I was surprised to find a few hidden gems. Notably, the new Beck and TV on the Radio albums have found their way into Canada's airspace, and so has, of course, the new Elizabeth Shepherd Trio album. After watching Wall-E for the first couple hours of my flight last week, I turned on Parkdale (the name of the album) and am now fully on the bandwagon.
The trio has only been around since 2004, but is already making quite a name for themselves on the Canadian (and especially Torontonian) scene. They were nominated for a Juno in 2006, and Parkdale was recently named one of the 10 best albums of the year by the Globe and Mail (unfortunately the online version of the Globe isn't free, but here's the link if you have a membership).
Elizabeth has a beautiful voice with very little vibrato. She hits every note with piercing clarity, and is nimble as well, skipping from note to note with ease, but doesn't fall into the pop-singer trap of over-embellishment. She is also a very good pianist and her backing band is solid. For me, the best part of the Trio's music is Elizabeth's song-writing/arranging. She has a knack for producing catchy motifs and melodies, but if you peer under the surface you'll find the complex rhythms and harmonies that make great jazz. This is a rare ability, and you can bet I'll be keeping tabs on the group as they continue to be a bright spot on the jazz scene.
Check out Elizabeth Shepherd at her MySpace page. There's a much more extensive bio than what I've mentioned, and a number of videos and songs. In particular, I'd recommend Parkdale, Shining Tear of the Sun, and Sicilienne, a beautiful arrangement of a classical piece originally written by Gabriel Faure.
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