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Alyssa Graham

An echo can soothe, and an echo can haunt. In Roman myth, Echo is the beautiful nymph with the musical voice forever calling after a boy in love with his own reflection. Critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Alyssa Graham's sophomore CD, the aptly-titled Echo, is a musical travelogue that traces the arc of a modern-day love affair and infuses it with a mlange of Jazz, Pop and Brazilian rhythms, bound together by the unforgettable timbre of Graham's stunning voice. Echo was produced by Jon Cowherd (The Brian Blade Fellowship, Lizz Wright) and is set for release July 29th on Sunnyside Records with distribution through Ryko.

Called “A beautifully controlled and sumptuous voice" by All About Jazz, “Something special and truly unique" by critically-acclaimed vocalist Luciana Souza, “Lovely and haunting" by The New Yorker and “Comforting, exciting and spellbinding" by People Magazine, Alyssa began laying the foundations for Echo in January of 2006. It was a more than two year-long process, influenced by Alyssa's travels throughout Brazil, India, Africa and Europe, as well as her long-time love affair with guitarist and lyricist Douglas Graham. “Echo is like a fairy tale," says Alyssa, “It reveals the different complexities of an alluring lover, equally at home with flirtation and passion and knowing the precise distance between the two. A love story that is true and eternal. Doug and I have been together since we were kids and this record is truly a tribute to our successful love story and to many of the places we have traveled together--emotionally and geographically."

From a love song written in the aftermath of an argument and the pull of honeyed love that almost conceals a fear of loss ("Butterflies") to a song about escaping the world together ("Pictures of You") to the Latin surrealism of the title song (inspired by the last five minutes of the classic Italian film “La Notte") co-written by Bryan McCann, a childhood friend and Professor of Brazilian and Latin American History at Georgetown, Echo is a mythical blend of magical originals and familiar melodies filled with the musical unexpected. But perhaps the most unique highlight of the CD is the tune “Involved Again," especially significant in that it was actually written for Jazz legend Billie Holiday and was set to be recorded on her next album. Unfortunately, Holiday passed away and the writer of the song, legendary composer Jack Reardon ("The Good Life") was so saddened by this great loss that he shelved the track for fifty years until a chance listen to Alyssa's debut CD, What Love Is, prompted him to contact her. This unheard musical gem was recorded by Alyssa and is a song integral to the mood and sultry stylization of Echo.

Alyssa Graham: Echo

Read "Echo" reviewed by C. Michael Bailey

by C. Michael Bailey
November 16, 2008

Jazz is a paradox that is both compromising and uncompromising. It is compromising as an assimilating art, one that absorbs all influences that touch it. It is uncompromising that jazz demands virtuosity and creativity. It is this paradox that allows the genre to contain both a Sarah Vaughan and Dianna Krall, and a Grant Green and John McLaughlin beneath its tent. It is jazz that welcomes the better angels of creation into its realm to manifest any number of delightful ...

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Extended Analysis

Alyssa Graham: What Love Is

by C. Michael Bailey
January 22, 2006

Alyssa Graham What Love Is Self Published 2006

Great things often come humbly disguised. While not the perfect metaphor, it comes pretty close to describing vocalist Alyssa Graham's new recording What Love Is. A self-produced effort, and I mean that literally as Miss Graham and her ensemble recorded these 11 selections in Miss Graham's one-bedroom apartment on New York City's Upper West Side, What Love Is proves possession of intimacy and empathy not possible ...

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Radio

Alyssa Graham Podcast Interview Now Online

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
March 1, 2010

Jazz St. Louis has just posted the latest installment in their series of podcast interviews: a chat between JSL's Gene Dobbs Bradford and singer Alyssa Graham, who will be making her St. Louis debut this Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6 at Jazz at the Bistro.You can listen to an audio stream of the interview here. Also, after a bit of tinkering by the web gurus on the recently re-designed JSL site, visitors once again have the ...
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Performance / Tour

Joey Defrancesco, Alyssa Graham Switch 2010 Dates at Jazz at the Bistro

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
September 25, 2009

Jazz St. Louis has announced another change in the season schedule for Jazz at the Bistro. From the letter sent out to subscribers:“Due to scheduling conflicts, Joey DeFrancesco has been forced to reschedule his dates for March of 2010. To make things easier for everyone, we have switched his dates with those of Alyssa Graham. The new dates will be:Alyssa Graham: March 3 - 6, 2010Joey DeFrancesco: March 31 - April 3, 2010This will ...
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Performance / Tour

Alyssa Graham Performs Live @ Chris' Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia)

Source: Michael Ricci
August 24, 2009

Alyssa Graham performs from her critically acclaimed new album Echo out now on Sunnyside Records. She will do two shows on Saturday, August 29th at Chris' Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, PA.

Echo was named one of the: “Top 10 Vocal Albums of 2008" --iTunes “Critics' Choice 2008" by Jazziz Magazine “Publisher's Top Pick 2008" --All About Jazz “Top 50 Jazz Albums 2008" --Jazz.com “Critics' Choice CD" --The New York Times ...
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Performance / Tour

Alyssa Graham Performs Two Shows at Lincoln Center Jazz

Source: All About Jazz
April 20, 2009

Alyssa Graham performs from her critically acclaimed new album Echo out now on Sunnyside Records. She will do two shows on Monday, April 27th at Lincoln Center Jazz--Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola as part of the annual “Sing Into Spring" festival.

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Performance / Tour

Alyssa Graham Performs at the Tin Angel on January 30th

Source: All About Jazz
January 27, 2009

Alyssa Graham returns to Philadelphia to perform from her new album Echo on Sunnyside Records.

Echo was named one of the: “Top 10 Vocal Albums of 2008" by iTunes “Critics' Choice - Best of 2008" by Jazziz Magazine “Publisher's Top Pick for 2008" by All About Jazz “Top 50 Jazz Albums of 2008" by Jazz.com

Alyssa will perform from her new album this Friday at the Tin Angel.

Tin Angel ...
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Performance / Tour

Alyssa Graham CD Release Event at Joe's Pub on January 16th

Source: All About Jazz
January 13, 2009

After touring the North East, Alyssa Graham will come home to NYC and celebrate the release of her Sunnyside debut, Echo at Joe's Pub.

Since it's release Echo has been a NY TIMES CRITICS' CHOICE CD, has been hailed as “Stunning" by Jazz Times and has been praised by THE WASHINGTON POST when they described Alyssa as a “Honey voiced Chanteuse that... smokes!"

“Echo" was recently honored as one of the “Top 10 Best Vocal Jazz Albums of 2008" by ...
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Performance / Tour

Philadelphia Museum of Art's "Art After 5" Unveils a Dazzling Autumn Lineup of International and Classic Jazz Performers

Source: All About Jazz
September 25, 2008

Friday nights are always something to celebrate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where Art After 5 brings the top names in jazz and international music to the Museum’s elegant Great Stair Hall. Each Friday evening the space becomes a lively concert hall, with table service, cocktails, elegant caf-style appetizers, and desserts. The fall 2008 season features the return of popular favorite artists and several exciting newcomers, while the first-ever Art After 5 Halloween party brings the dark, ambient sound ...
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Performance / Tour

Alyssa Graham Celebrates "Echo" Release

Source: All About Jazz
July 27, 2008

Vocalist Alyssa Graham's stunning new album, 'Echo' (Sunnyside) comes out next Tuesday, July 29th. She'll be marking the occasion with an in-store performance and record signing at New York City's Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble on August 4th. From “Pictures of You, “ a musical travelogue that traces the arc of a modern day love affair, to “Involved Again, “ a previously unrecorded gem originally written some 50 years ago for jazz legend Billie Holiday, 'Echo' proves Alyssa Graham to ...
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Recording

"Echo" Lingers for Alyssa Graham

Source: AirMTM
June 7, 2008

New York, NY. - A sensuous blend of jazz rhythms pulses through Echo (Sunnyside), a collection of songs bound together by the unforgettable resonance of Alyssa Graham's extraordinary voice. Its eleven tracks reveal musical influences from around the globe, all while maintaining the thematic feel of a deeply personal, well-told and eternal love story. With seven original tracks, four classic songs round out the album, including a delicately yearning version of Paul Simon's “America" that speaks to journeys closer to ...
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Recording

Alyssa Graham Releases "Echo"

Source: All About Jazz
June 6, 2008

"...beautifully controlled and sumptuous voice." - All About Jazz
" Comforting, exciting and spellbinding." - Eleni Gage, People Magazine
" Wows listeners with plush poignancy." - The New York Press
"...lovely and haunting." - Alec Wilkinson, The New Yorker
"She's something special! Her voice is so natural and her sound truly unique." - Luciana Souza (Grammy-winning vocalist)
"Alyssa Graham is a true voice. Pure, beautiful, natural, honest and effortless as speech itself. Her distinct style is sure to 'speak' to you as it has 'spoken' to me." - Wycliffe Gordon (Jazz Journalists Association's two-time Trombonist of the Year)