Alison Wedding

Bio:

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.. Alison Wedding started her music career at age two, singing for family and friends in the living room. But it was not until she walked into a jazz ensemble at her fine arts high school in Dallas, Texas, that she was first introduced to jazz. The harmonies, chord progressions, and rhythms fascinated her. She listened constantly to horn players, learning their solos, and with the help of her mentor Dave Alexander, Alison began to explore improvisation, which has become one of her greatest skills.

Her early influences included Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, and horn players such as Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Michael Brecker. Because she had a hunger to learn more, she attended several Jamey Aebersold workshops. "It was the best learning experience being thrown into small ensembles with horn players - I was expected to perform like one."

She went on to study jazz at University of North Texas under the guidance of Paris Rutherford and began to sing professionally in the Dallas area. One of her career highlights was singing with the One O'clock Lab Band with the late Gerry Mulligan. After receiving her bachelor's degree, she spent a summer at Epcot in Florida, singing in the show Swingin' Summer Nights,where she had the opportunity to sing with an amazing line up of singers such as Dianne Reeves, Diane Schuur, and the late Joe Williams.

Alison then decided to move to the west coast to develop her career. While in Los Angeles, Alison performed professionally, both live and in the studio. She toured as a back-up singer with Kevyn Lettau, and recorded with artists such as Andy Summers (formerly of The Police) on his CD Peggy's Blue Sklight. She also taught voice and piano throughout the area.

After moving to Australia in January 2001, in addition to teaching at major music schools in Melbourne, she was fortunate to play with truly amazing musicians, including Sam Keevers, Jamie Oehlers, Colin Hopkins, Peter Knight, Bob Sedergreen, Joe Chindamo, Kate Ceberano, Richard Clapton, just to name a few. She has made guest appearances on other Melbourne artists' CDs, such as Peter Knight's Between Two Moments, Darrin Archer's Secret World, and Mark Lockett's About Time. She was also the featured singer with Blowfish, an 8 piece band led by Jamie Oehlers- this group recently released their first CD ( on Bennetts Lane Records). Alison's first solo CD, "The Secret", was released in September 2003 on the ABC Jazz label. Not long after this release, Alison and her band did a national tour performing all around Australia, including the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. The Secret went on to win the 2004 Bell Award for the Best Vocal Jazz Album.

Since her national tour, Alison was invited to sing with Tim Ries (saxophone player with The Rolling Stones) at the 2004 Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Alison's current band lineup consists of Sam Keevers (piano), Ben Robertson (double-bass), Stephen Magnusson (guitar), and Dave Beck (drums). Alison performed with this band in the Melbourne Umbria Jazz Festival in May 2005. Keep an eye out for her latest CD of her original material, "Sometimes I Feel", which was released on Jazzhead in October 2005. Alison was named a semifinalist at the Wangaratta Jazz Competition in October 2005, and won the Gibson-May award at the London International Vocal Jazz Competition, which took place in London March 2006. Alison and her band traveled to New Zealand to perform in the Christchurch Jazz Festival in April 2006 and then to Bangalow, Northern NSW for the Northcoast Jazz Festival in June.

Alison has recently moved back to the US, relocating to NY for the next chapter in her career...She has performed at various venues, including Rockwood Music Hall and Cornelia St. Cafe, and she usually plays a monthly gig at the 55 Bar. She has had the fortune of working with some fantastic musicians so far, including Tim Lefebvre, Tony Mason, Keith Ganz, Pete McCann, Matt Clohesy, Henry Hey, and Brian Delaney. She is writing new material and hopes to record her 3rd CD in the next 6 months. Alison is also an assistant professor of the voice faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston..stay tuned...

Member Since:

February 03, 2006

Members:

In Melbourne, Australia:
Sam Keevers- keyboards
Stephen Magnusson- guitar
Dave Beck- drums
Ben Robertson- bass
Alison Wedding- vocals

In New York:
Tim Lefebvre- bass
Pete McCann- guitar
Tony Mason- drums
Alison Wedding- voice/Keyboard

On the track "Remain":
Helio Alves-piano
Antonio Sanchez- drums
Gabriel Espinosa- bass
Romero Lubambo- guitar
Claudio Roditi- trumpet

On the track "We've Come Undone":
Adriano Santos- drums
Helio Alves- piano
Gabriel Espinosa- bass
Romero Lubambo- guitar
Jacinto Macedo- percussion

Colin Hopkins plays piano on "Don't Let me Say Goodbye"

Alison plays piano and sings on "Up In Smoke"

All tunes on this page are Alison's originals...

Influences:

There are so many, but here's an attempt to list them (in no particular order)...and you can be sure that I will keep adding to the list as time goes by...

Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Rhiannon, Bobby McFerrin, Rufus Wainwright, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Michael Brecker, Dave Matthews, Joni Mitchell, Cold Play, James Taylor, D'angelo, Bjork, Jonatha Brooke, Chris Potter, John Mayer, Sarah Mclachlan, Nat King Cole, Shawn Colvin, Eva Cassidy, Tori Amos, Ricki Lee Jones, Fiona Apple, Sting, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Johnny Cash, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Mark Murphy, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, Shirley Horn, Vince Jones, John Coltrane, Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, Hank Mobley...

Sounds Like:

"An American singer who settled in Melbourne a few years back, Alison Wedding won the Bell Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album of 2004 with her debut CD, The Secret. Her new album is less overtly jazz-oriented in style and instrumentation, so may take some getting used to for fans who expect to hear a singer swinging through the standard repertoire. Even so, it confirms her reputation as a jazz singer of genuine talent. Wedding wrote all 15 songs on the album, focussing on relationship issues. Some feature her adventurous, well-controlled, wordless solos, but most feature her greatest asset, the ability to deliver lyrics with disarming emotional honesty. She enjoys spirited accompaniment from keyboardist Sam Keevers, bassist Ben Robertson and drummer Dave Beck, but it is guitarist Stephen Magnusson whose imaginative touches give proceedings a real lift." - ADRIAN JACKSON, Rhythms Magazine

"As soulful as the tinkling of chimes, Alison Wedding's all-original album marks high water on the tide of Australian jazz recording... Wedding writes on piano and brings the results to the table for the digestion of extraordinarily empathetic collaborators, Sam Keevers (piano, various keyboards), Stephen Magnusson (guitar), Ben Robertson (acoustic bass) and Dave Beck (drums). Theirs is a feast of cool, often ethereal, sounds, Wedding's voice, horn-like, weaving about the subtle sonic tapestry..."
-review by Ken Williams, Sydney Morning Herald

Record Label:

Jazzhead