Alyssa Allgood - From Here (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Acclaimed vocalist and songwriter offers a new view From Here, due April 19 on Next Records, in company of international jazz stars John Patitucci, Geoffrey Keezer, Kendrick Scott and Greg Ward

On her exhilarating fourth album, Alyssa Allgood strides confidently into the next phase of her impressive young career. Her rich, clear contralto comes as no surprise, thanks to her previous recordings, but she has taken her phrasing, improvising, and sense of swing up yet another notch. And while Allgood has included an increasing number of original compositions on each previous disc, From Here — made up of nearly all original compositions — finds her at a new pinnacle of personal expression and emotional observation.

“These songs are reflections of my journey — to understand and love myself more deeply, and to fully embrace my artistic vision as a bandleader, composer, and arranger,” says the Chicago-based Allgood. Those reflections concern such themes as embracing change, but also knowing when to stand pat; how to feel good about a breakup, and even better about finding love; the need to treat oneself with compassion, and the hard truth that even the hardships we overcome remain with us in small yet important ways.

Don’t think for a minute that the poetry of Allgood’s lyrics overshadows the propulsion and depth of her music. Sure, she taps into the vocal tradition of songful storytelling. But her immersion in the jazz aesthetic — with its emphasis on spontaneity and improvisation, and on compositions informed by a rich harmonic and rhythmic language — ensures that her messages swing hard too, and delight the intellect in the bargain.

TRACKLIST

1 Burn (For Betty)
2 Your Wings
3 Both Sides Now
4 Brave Little Flower
5 No Good
6 Other Side
7 Dream
8 On a Clear Day
9 Still Searching
10 Above All Else
11 Time Told
12 Turn to Gold



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