ELIZABETH SHEPHERD - «THREE THINGS»

The velvety-voiced pianist and singer Elizabeth Shepherd appeared on the international scene in 2006 when her debut album Start to Move ranked among the best of the year according to listeners of the prestigious Gilles Peterson Show, broadcast on BBC Radio Worldwide. Since then, this innovative soul-jazz artist, based in Montreal, has established herself as one of the most charming and imaginative artists on the current scene. A classical pianist who switched to jazz through her passionate taste for “old-school” hip-hop, Elizabeth was described as a “jazz virtuoso with a pop sensibility.” Critics around the world have hailed her for her striking and unique compositions, as well as her moving performance. Alongside Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper, she is part of a new wave of jazz-influenced musicians who are introducing this style to a new generation of music lovers. Elizabeth Shepherd has been nominated six times for the JUNO Awards (the Canadian GRAMMY Awards) and twice for the Polaris Award. His eight albums, including contributions from musicians such as Lionel Loueke (of Herbie Hancock’s band) and British producer Nostalgia 77, have received praise from around the world. She toured North America, Europe, Japan and Mexico, and gave sold-out concerts at Cotton Club (Tokyo) and Jazz Cafe (London, UK), North seas and ELBJazz Festival. She has shared the stage with renowned artists as diverse as Christian MacBride, Branford Marsalis, Spankie Wilson, Victor Wooten, the Quantic Soul Orchestra and Bonobo, and was also personally invited to open a sold-out Jamie Cullum concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Elizabeth’s seventh album, Three Things is an adventurous mix of jazz, soul, found sounds, electro and gospel. The songs were written during the pandemic, at a time when Quebec was under confinement (with curfew) and musicians (scattered across Canada) could not leave their homes, let alone gather to create. So Elizabeth did what she does best: she improvised, turning instead to the world around her to find inspiration — birdsong, typewriter sounds, garbage, her children’s laughter… Three things is a joyful and unique celebration of life, the power of creativity and the music that is hidden in everything around us, if we listen to it.

Elizabeth Shepherd - keyboards/vocals
Remi-Jean Leblanc - bass
Kevin Warren - drums
Michael Occhipinti - guitar

Artist website