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Stories   >   Laird Jackson has an uncanny ability for unusual yet joyous arrangements on 'Life' / Skope Magazine

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Laird Jackson has an uncanny ability for unusual yet joyous arrangements on 'Life' / Skope Magazine

Posted: October 19, 2024

Alternative Jazz vocalist/composer Laird Jackson’s latest release features a spectacular list of award-winning musicians - LIFE. An original to the core, Laird asserts that whenever you sing, you’re giving voice to your soul. She spreads her emotional soundscape wide. She dives deep into dramatic mystery, quiet romance, elemental wonder, profound sadness, ruminative ecstasy, improvisational beauty and the dreamy tug between longing within and pushing outward away from all boundaries to find freedom.

With 15 tracks (only 5 of which are covers) taking the listener on a 74 minute genre-bending journey through a cinematic sonic landscape, Life paints a colorful image that is cohesively held together by Laird’s beautiful voice. Produced by Grammy® winner and percussionist extraordinaire, Jeff Haynes (Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson, Brandi Carlile) this new album will tingle your senses.

Featuring Jeff Haynes (percussion), Marvin Sewell (guitar), Gregoire Maret (harmonica), Michael Manring (bass), Charlie Burnham (violin), Premik Russell Tubbs (sax/EWI), Brandon Ross (guitar), Eugene Friesen (cello), Jennifer DeFrayne (piano), Sean Harkness (guitar/bass), Doug Weiss (bass), Candace Coates (harp), and more. Tracks Include:

1. I Believe 5:25
2. Suhaili 5:56
3. Dusk 4:45
4. Make a Smile for Me 5:49
5. Destiny 5:42
6. In the Pines 3:51
7. The River 4:59
8. Rainbows 3:01
9. Rounding the Sun 5:26
10. The Wind 4:19
11. Life 4:24
12. World of Dreams 4:49
13. Tender as a Rose 4:22
14. Wild is the Wind 5:37
15. Follow 5:07

Produced, Recorded and Orchestrated by Jeff Haynes. Executive Producer: Laird Jackson. Mixed and Mastered by Corin Nelsen at SynchroSonic Productions. Photography by Vital Agibalow for Hensel. Publishing by LairdSongs (ASCAP).
©?2024 Laird Jackson. All Rights Reserved. All songs available on your favorite streaming platform.

Skope Magazine writes…..A sun-drenched splendor adorns the tropical flavor and deep contemplative grooves of “Life,” with Laird Jackson as a poetic, powerful storyteller. Tempos are slowed to a languid pace to give them this sense of majesty and awe. Everything goes for the tactile – from the backup vocalists to the percussive elements to the melodies that waft through. She delivers such depth in a multi-faceted, multi-layered way that the sounds are executed warmly and delightfully. The lyrics are given the utmost care as she goes on this vast journey within each work.

“I Believe” sets the tone with the song’s casual pace and themes to follow. Low-key funk underpins the dreamy, surrealist nature of “Dusk.” Dripping with love, “Make a Smile for Me” has a careful, delicate pace, with the interplay amongst the band feeling doubly refreshing. Usage of field recordings gives a sense of place with the sprawling, summertime spirit of “In the Pines.” Hushed folk gain a refined stately grace with the intimacy of “Rainbows.” “Rounding the Sun” increases the pace, with a driving pulse steadily growing in strength. Forgoing any arrangement is the intimacy of her voice with the peaceful “The Wind.” Strings of the classical and acoustic variety intertwine on the living, breathing scope of “World of Dreams” with its mournful hues. Slow moving is the gracious gait of “Wild is the Wind.” On “Follow,” things end on a reflective, meditative kick.

Laird Jackson has an excellent ear for melody and an uncanny ability for unusual yet joyous arrangements on “Life.”

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