Search - Nerissa Campbell :: Musings of a Telescopic Tree

Musings of a Telescopic Tree is an album of moodiness and of melancholy - stories of desire and the sorrows of losing loved things, the weight of depression and the lightness of being. The indie-jazz singer-songwriter ponders a new approach to her music, - its roots in jazz, it also ponders its way through somber pop-ballads, bluesy folk songs, moody instrumentals and a lyricism full of thought and space. Her songs roil in the smoke of forgotten bars and express a love of many styles and thoughts. The heartfelt howl, the whisper of love Nerissa Campbell is a young singer who is indicative of our time, a time when categories are ignored and walls between types of music have been torn down or at least severely damaged. This is a reaction to the new freedom that has come from the downturn of the record industry and the dominance of marketing and public relations. The rise of the internet, home recording, do-it-yourself CD production, and social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook, allows musicians to reach the listeners directly, cataloging be damned. What we tend to forget today is that in more innocent times there was more room to move within musical genres. The original American music, the wellspring which has fed nearly all of the world s popular music, combined the instruments and traditional music from Ireland, England and France, with the musical approaches, styles and sounds of the nation s African slaves. We re talking blues, country, and most importantly, jazz. Despite mainstream jazz s historical revisionism, sense of orthodoxy and pretense of purity, jazz has always evolved and produced different branches and absorbed various influences. When challenged by critics and purists for playing with and including the music of Cuban musicians in the 1940's jazz pioneer Charlie Parker responded: It s all music, man. For Nerissa Campbell it s all music, yet she also has a consistent sound and essence. Still, her music would have a record label s marketing department scratching their heads. How would you categorize a singer whose songs include elements of pop, jazz, rhumba and blues dipped in a smoky beer batter of late night living? First and foremost, one would have to consider Ms. Campbell a song writer. There is a sincere, raw and open emotional quality to her songs. In my song writing I like to conjure up more imagery than tell a specific story, she states. I like to be simple in my song writing, and have the songs be quite open when played, so that the band can be a part of the overall vibe of the song. The subjects of her songs include memories of travel and identity, loss through departure, betrayal or death, missing people and being missed, and, of course, love. Secondly, she is a true singer. Her voice shifts in mood and expressiveness depending on the song, becoming rough and syrupy like Grace Slick by way of Billie Holiday, plaintive like Cat Power, or smooth and sexy like Cassandra Wilson. Her time playing the clubs and bars of the New York music scene has given her the seasoning that is heard throughout her new CD, Musings of a Telescopic Tree. She has done what I wish more musical artists, especially singers, would do. She has developed a unique and deeply personal writing and performing voice. Though drawing from different styles, the music is a fine blend, like a well-cooked gumbo. Perhaps as the maestro said, it s all music, man, and in a post-everything culture without walls, one s music is about what one takes in and creates, fidelities be damned. ~Mark Kirby