“I’ve always loved singing the standards. Many hours were and still are whiled away listening to Ella, Sarah, Nina and Julie London. Kurt Elling, Chet and Little Jimmy Scott are also regularly featured on my playlists. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s something as simple as they sing in keys that suit my alto voice? Maybe it’s because they sing songs that always find a way to speak to me? I also just love the freedom of expression I’ve found as a jazz/torch singer. I can twist the melody to suit my interpretation. Interpretation is and freedom of expression are the key. There’s something so raw and basic in the material that it speaks directly to my soul. A cri de coeur as it were. When choosing the opening song of the album “Cry me a river”, “ Cry” became the obvious title choice for this album.
I recorded “Cry me a river” the morning after my most recent relationship had ended. As you can hear from the song it didn’t end on good terms. I left my partner’s home and went straight to the studio. People who’ve listened to it have told me it’s a very angry interpretation. I had more than a few singers compare my opening notes to those Shirley Bassey (do I not wish?). It really is about interpretation. Something I really felt was lacking in my life as a classical singer. Perhaps that’s why I snook in and out of jazz and drag bars to sing torch songs in secret. When I’m on stage I can challenge myself and my listener and help them forget their problems for a few hours. It let’s them know that their are other people feeling the same way. Which is so important in an age where we feel such a disconnect.
Whether it be the seductive, hypnotic rhythms of “Never, Never, Never”, the bossa grove of “The Look of Love” . The elation of “Fly me to the moon” or the heartfelt contentedness of “The Folks who live on the hill”. There is a song to reflect every mood.
I included some tracks from a live late night session I had at Ocean House in Co Cork in May of 2018. It was recorded unbeknownst to me while Pawel and I sat and sang to some friends of ours. It was the end of a very long week. We’d just finished recording “Songs My Disco Taught Me”. Pawel and I needed to rehearse some new songs for an upcoming show we had at PizzaExpress in London. We’d just come back from the pub. There were a few glasses of wine being drunk and we decided to entertain our friends. I’m going to put my hands up. I sang one wrong word in “Here’s to life” it was the first time we’d sung it in public. I decided to release the recording as it shows that live performance is where the magic happens. It keeps everything real. There is nothing that can beat the communion between a singer and his or her audience. The power to move an audience with music is a special gift. If you speak directly from your heart. They’ll forgive everything.”
Graham invites you to share his new album with him at what promise to be an unforgettable show at The Pheasantry.
“Numbers like ‘Summertime’ found Norton riffing and flouting vocal feathers over swanky jazz arrangements”
The Thin Air
www.grahamjsings.com
https://m.facebook.com/grahamjsings
www.twitter.com/@grahamjsings
