Bradley Parker-Sparrow

Joanie Pallatto: My Original Plan

by Jack Bowers
April 28, 2021

"Give my new disc a spin," Chicago-based vocalist Joanie Pallatto e-mailed. “I think you'll like it." That was more than twenty years ago, and Pallatto was right. That album, Words & Music (Southport Records, 1999), was splendid, as was Pallatto, reciting memorable lyrics by Rodgers & Hart, the Gershwin brothers, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hoagy Carmichael, Bob Dorough and others. It's now 2021 and Pallatto has recorded another “new disc," My Original Plan, on which she sings as well as ever. ...

Sparrow: The Light, a Tone Poem

by Jim Santella
October 9, 2004

Sparrow creates one tone poem in eighteen movements on The Light to describe feelings and moods. Derived from the blues, his improvised form of communication leaves impressions for his audience to absorb and interpret. Joanie Pallatto provides lovely wordless vocals and meaningful reading of lyrics to complete the picture. Together, she and Sparrow open doors everywhere. The world is their theme.

Delicate poetry and a cascading piano deliver one message, while harmonica, guitar, bass, and drums provide others. ...

Sparrow & Joanie Pallatto: Canned Beer

by Jim Santella
June 25, 2003

Left-fielders Sparrow and Joanie Pallatto have a lot of fun on Canned Beer, reminding us what kinds of music we’ve been listening to over the past few decades. Intentionally humorous, the album travels through time and space through the duo’s compositions.

“Recess” is light, and “Canned Beer” takes us to the beach. “Shopping” expresses the beat and ambiance of our pop culture with a “hook” in melody and a common thread in the lyrics. “Drum” soliloquizes on the mechanical aspects ...