Jenny Gillespie, piano, guitar and voice; Josh Stewart, bass and cello; John Knecht, percussion/drums; Jenny Lee, violin
Buy "Light Year" on Itunes:
Influences
Solitude. Funny strangers. Paper lanterns. Dinner parties. Dreams. Being driven around strange cities. Austin. Chicago. Big Sur. Paris. Virginia. Trains. Cornfields. Mountains. Skylights. Snow. Bloodlines. Lake Michigan. Music: Joni Mitchell. Cocteau Twins. Sundays. Taken by Trees. Joanna Newsom. Shawn Colvin. Mary Margaret O'Hara. Jane Siberry. El Perro del Mar. Dionne Warwick. Dolly Parton. Bonnie Prince Billy. Peter Gabriel. Talk Talk. Leonard Cohen. Habib Koite. Stina Nordenstam. Charlotte Gainsbourg. Bat for Lashes. Kaki King. Bill Callahan. Bon Iver. Ida. The Books. Tift Merritt. Fairport Convention. TV on the Radio. Vashti Bunyan. Thom Yorke. Catherine Howe. Kate Bush. M83. Land of Talk. Mercury Rev. Neil Young. Paul Simon. Sun Kil Moon. Bjork. Ryan Adams. Poets: Wallace Stevens. Gerard Manley Hopkins. Jane Hirshfield. David Wevill. Jean Valentine. Charles Wright. Mary Oliver. Tony Hoagland. Basho. Artists: Cy Twombly. Claire Degans. Georgia O'Keefe. Sally Mann. Andy Goldsworthy. Olafur Eliasson. Joseph Cornell. Odilon Redon. Nancy Gillespie. Actors: Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront. Robert De Niro in the Deer Hunter. Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice. Holly Hunter in The Piano/Broadcast News. Steve Martin in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Juliette Binoche in most everything (perfection.) Eric Rohmer. Other things: Green City Market. Laurel Canyon in the 60s. Children's books. Emotions changing. Wind. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Sunshine. Jem, Jem is outrageous. The Muppets, namely Animal. Language. Woody Allen. Owls. Pastel dust. Drums. The jazz clubs of Paris. The honky tonk bars of Texas. Flower shops. VCCA. Ballrooms. Castles. Vineyards. Seashells. The dictionary. Spontaneous dance parties. Forgiveness. Whiskey. Storms. Affection. My boyfriend.
"....despite the richness of the arrangements, the songs never feel over-indulgent, radiating instead a shimmer, sparkle and gentle sway that’s ever so beautiful and beguiling. In fact, the entire set is so unerringly mesmerizing, it’s a challenge to distinguish a single standout, although “Vanishing Point,” “Littleblood,” and “Hummingbirds” certainly vie for that distinction. However, with the songs maintaining such low wattage, it may also be necessary to submit to more than a cursory listening – in fact, several may be required before true seduction sets in. Yet be assured that once its given those repeated encounters, Light Year will shine that much stronger."
-Lee Zimmerman - Eat Sleep Drink Music
"This album of 40 minutes is absolutely perfect, a bedside album so pleasant to listen to after a hard day. At once accessible and challenging . . . a perfectly balanced album . . . filled with memorable melodies. A debut full of promise!"
-Sabine de Greef, withmusicinmymind.blogspot.com
"Debut albums sometimes can offer a false look at what's to come in the future from an artist, but for Jenny Gillespie it was just the opposite. She spent time to find herself musically before presenting this album to the public. This is a great album that offers a tranquil, relaxed quality to it that I think everyone can use at some point or another and is well worth a spin." -Guestlist Magazine
Jenny Gillespie lives in Chicago and is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, imbroglio-seeker, nightfisher, enfant terrible, bad dancer, court jester, romantic sap and humble loon. She embroiders words into the soil of chords, steals vivid scraps of her heart to feed a hungry melody, mimics the birdsong of messy muses, all of which you can hear on her new album, "Light Year."
Just dropping by to let you know that I have a new album out entitled 'Anitya.' It is currently available for download from Amazon.com. It is album consisting of ten acoustic folk rock songs with traditional east asian influences. It centers around the idea of anitya or impermanence in Buddhism, and the interaction between failure and ideals. So take some time and enjoy the new songs! peace,
it was so great to finally meet you & thanks so much for letting us stay - i think we all fell in love with your neighborhood & your apartment. Darwin has been raving about your new songs & played me a couple.... they are amazing. can't wait to hear more. i would love to sing with u someday. good luck with the new recordings.... love, dao
Will you be at Folk and Roots festival on Sunday? I am arriving at Midway and taking CTA to the event. I am staying in Evanston not sure if I can get back in town for your Uncommon Ground but would like to.
Greetings from Northern California, central coast region, San Francisco Peninsula/ Santa Clara Valley, and Pacific Daylight Time zone. You have a fan in Palo Alto.
hey! I have been listening to yours as well, I love it. were gonna have to get out to chicago to see you soon. lets set up a few show together. I double dare you!
Hello hello hello, I hope all is well. Just stopping by to announce that our CD Release show will be on June 27th @ Beatkitchen. We're playing with The Yearbooks and Aktar Aktar. The show starts @ 1030. I really hope you can make it. You can preview some of the songs from our upcoming record on our page. Please let us know what you think and if you can attend. Hope to hear from you soon. -Doug
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