"Full Circle" (2006):
Halie Loren -- vocals, piano, keyboards, percussion
James M. House -- guitar, bass, percussion
Chris Ward -- guitar, bass
Brian West -- drums, percussion
Paul Biondi -- saxophone
"They Oughta Write a Song" (2008):
Halie Loren -- vocals
Matt Treder -- piano, keyboards
Mark Schneider -- bass
Brian West -- drums, percussion
Tim McLaughlin -- trumpet
"Many Times, Many Ways: a holiday collection" (2008):
Halie Loren -- vocals
Matt Treder -- piano
Influences
Sarah McLachlan, Etta James, Nat King Cole, Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Jewel, Tori Amos, Patsy Cline, Diana Krall, Coldplay, Nina Simone, Annie Lennox, Nine Inch Nails, Chrissie Hynde, Jonatha Brooke, the Cranberries, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Peggy Lee.
Sounds Like
Sarah McLachlan, Eva Cassidy, Paula Cole, Norah Jones, Tori Amos, Regina Spektor, Melody Gardot, Fiona Apple, Diana Krall
The first thing you notice is that voice: deep and rich and warm, gorgeous, graceful, and somehow earthy and ethereal at once. It is an instrument perfectly pitched and primed to each line, with each audible breath. Just as warm and familiar and frankly right as the needle hitting the groove on vinyl.
And so it goes. In describing the vocal talents of Eugene-based singer/songwriter Halie Loren, the adjectives just start piling up. Heartfelt is one. Confident yet vulnerable, strong but inviting. Authentic is another adjective that rushes to mind—emotionally authentic, which, really, is the key to great jazz and great art in general. Not the play-it-safe jazz of Kenny G or the narcoleptic whispers of mall-bound Musak, but the real deal. Think Peggy Lee and Billie Holiday and Joni Mitchell, or, more recently, Diana Krall, Norah Jones. But such comparisons are only historic reference points, a means of entry. What’s important to understand is that when Halie Loren sings, you not only hear the music. You feel it. She’s right there, in the room with you, filling the space with intimate stories of love and heartbreak, memory and hope, experience and passion—in a word, life.
Were Loren’s resume to end here, with her vocal talents, it would be more than enough. Singing of that quality is rare, a gift. But Loren is no mere interpreter of standards (though she does that with refreshing facility). Having cut her songwriting teeth when, as a teenager, she spent an educational year rubbing elbows with some of Nashville’s top composers, this young artist—she is but 25—has penned original numbers that are stunning for the depth and maturity the show. Take, for instance, the title song from her 2008 release, They Oughta Write a Song: in a bittersweet croon that is equal parts hurt and healing, Loren delivers lines like, “If there were prizes for those sighs of regret/you’d be the envy of the oh-woe-is-me set/romance is through/it’s just the piper and you…”
Yeah, that’s the stuff—the blues, clever with pain, a sentimental journey hardened into sad-happy wisdom. Loren, as the saying goes, knows her way around a song, whether it be a composition of her own or one of her surprising and always dead-on covers. Witness the way her ingenious arrangement (composed with frequent collaborator, pianist Matt Treder) turns a radio-overplayed ballad like Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” into something utterly new and unexpectedly affecting, or check out the swinging upbeats and jaunty phrasing that gets the foot tapping to “Dock on the Bay,” without once betraying the spirit of Otis Redding’s masterpiece. Loren’s choice and performance of standards—from “Summertime” and “God Bless the Child” to “Blue Skies” and “La Vie en Rose”—is exquisite and respectful and inventive, another sign of her artistic intelligence.
In a relatively brief span of time, Loren appears to have achieved enough success and received enough kudos to define an entire career. Since her stage debut at the age of ten at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Alaska, Loren has continued to wow and woo audiences with her warm, intimate live performances; she is an elegant, electrifying performer, full of charisma and cool. And she has garnered more than her share of in-the-know acknowledgement, both critical and professional: from the Female Rising Star and Alternative Entertainer awards she won before she was 16, to later awards from such worthies as Billboard International and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, up to the present, where she is currently nominated for several Just Plain Folks awards—and one in the category of “new folk.”
Loren’s debut release, Full Circle (2006), was hailed for exhibiting “a power and grace that are nearly unheard of in popular music.” And along with last year’s acclaimed They Oughta Write a Song, Loren (accompanied by Treder) also released Many Times, Many Ways, a delightful collection of holiday songs that would melt the heart of the most tone-deaf Scrooge.
Still, for all she has already accomplished, it is what lies ahead that should truly thrill any fan of Loren’s music. This past year found her characteristically elevating her craft, getting better with each live performance, each newly written song or recorded work. At present she is planning a recording project that will fuse her unique songwriting chops with her deep roots in jazz, and which Loren says will be something altogether different from any of her previous albums. It is just this willingness to explore new avenues of creativity—combined with her inexhaustible drive and inimitable talents—that gives one the feeling that Loren is on the verge of setting the wide music world on fire. It’s only a matter of time.
“My cat leaps around the garden fence Pouncing on anything that moves There’s no defence Sleeps for hours and sometimes days Bathing in the summer rays Hibernating in the winter cold Prowling, howelling meowing so bold My cat is quick, sleek, reactions unique If I ever return as a bird or a mouse then I am going to leave my house When I am due to travel away my cat sulks for days Moody before and then turns his back as I return to the door Feeding him food from a tin Is considered by my feline friend a cardinal sin He sits and looks at me in disgust This is not what I want for my breakfast. “Give me lean chicken, salmon or fresh beluga Or I’ll slash the side of your chair like Freddy Kruger My claws are sharp I will reduce your coat To the texture and look of an old Nanny goat I go to sit in my favourite chair In front of the fire and guess whose there! Asleep in my bed I awake with surprise As a purring nose pokes me straight in the eyes! I now understand the word perfection Is all about my cats affection Even when he wreaks the place I live A look from those saucer green eyes makes me forget and forgive. My cat has a spiritual link, a supernatural perception Something that humans have no connection I can only watch look and admire all of that Oh…I forgot to mention. My cat is An Acrobat.”
"They Oughta Write a Song." intelligent lyrics and beautiful voice. i like the way you structure the phrase "seems to fade like dew does/ your arms keep reaching for the lover man who was..." its so graceful at parts...like when you sing "dawn"
haha I know that was WAY specific. I just think you're great. I'll definitely check you out if I'm ever in Oregon!!
Hey Halie, Hello from Seattle! Thanks for the note. …great music! …mmm a big fan! If we travel south, gonna check your schedule. Best Wishes! RobbyAlan
thanks for your really kind comment! No ones ever been quite so nice before :) I really appreciate it.
I love your music too, and need to be buying your album. Beautiful singing and playing - I can only dream of playing the piano like that (I've just started to learn and can just about manage Michael Row Your Boat Ashore). You are one talented lady (and I'm not just saying that because you were nice about my songs!!!).
Hello, Halie! This is Takeshi from SOONERS. Yes, it was great meeting you in Nashville! It was wonderful time, right? I really love your songs and your voice! I want to perform with you someday! Please keep in touch!
Thank you for your comment and as regards your music, in a funny way to gai you the fight against me, I bow(am defeated) before your magnificent voice. Friendly. Pierrot.
Halie, I can see why you won the Best Vocal Jazz Album... They didn't make any mistake on that! I also see you were using a Blueberry mic for your recording. I started to by one before and now I know that's the mice I want to invest in. You keep making that beautiful music because we love it. Have a great day tomorrow. I hope you had some time with your family and love ones during the Labor Day holiday. Marty
