Elizabeth Shepherd | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1977 (age 46–47) |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec |
| Genres | Vocal jazz, soul, pop, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, pianist, songwriter, arranger, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Pinwheel Music, Linus Entertainment, Do Right |
| Website | www |
Elizabeth Shepherd is a Canadian pianst, singer, songwriter and producer.
Born in 1977, Shepherd is the daughter of two ministers of The Salvation Army. [1] From an early age, she grew up on choral music, brass bands and classical music. She studied classical piano at conservatories in Canada and France, then came to jazz through old school hiphop, to eventually complete a degree in jazz piano from McGill University in Montreal after considering a career in music therapy.
In 2004, Shepherd moved to Toronto and worked as a waitress at a piano bar. [2] She began performing, and became a regular entertainer at the restaurant. [3] She formed The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio with Scott Kemp on bass and Colin Kingsmore on drums. [4] In 2006, she recorded her debut album, Start to Move, [5] which was voted among the top three jazz albums of 2006 by the listeners of The Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio 1. The album was nominated for a Juno Award in 2007. [2] The trio performed songs from the album at The Jazz Café in London, England.
Shepherd's second studio album, Parkdale (2008), dealt sympathetically with its Toronto neighbourhood namesake, which is known for its grit. The album was produced by Nostalgia 77, a DJ in London, and was nominated for a Juno Award in 2009. [6]
Heavy Falls the Night (2010) featured only one cover song, a reworking of "Danny's Song". Shepherd produced the album with the exception of the first single, "Seven Bucks", which was co-produced with Japanese DJ Mitsu the Beats and climbed to No. 37 on the "Tokio Hot 100" chart. The album was long listed for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. [2] [7]
In 2012, the choice of songs for her album Rewind was influenced by her pregnancy. [8] The album consisted of jazz-pop cover versions of traditional pop songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwin brothers, Kurt Weill, and José Luis Perales. Rewind was dedicated to her daughter and was nominated for the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2012.
Shepherd's album The Signal (2014) consisted of ten original songs on topics as varied as motherhood, Monsanto, witchcraft, and war, and featured guests such as Benin-born guitarist and composer Lionel Loueke and drummer Larnell Lewis. [2] [9] The album was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize in 2015 and was nominated for the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2015.
Her 2019 concept album, MONTREAL, is a soulful blend of film and music into an ode celebrating her hometown and its rich history of untold stories. It was nominated for a JUNO Award in 2020 in the vocal jazz category. She wrote a book that accompanies the album that won 2 Word Guild Awards.
Three Things (2023) is a hybrid of soulful sounds and synth-based electronica. Created during lockdown, it is an ode to life, joy and resilience. By far her edgiest and most hip work to date, it features collaborations with Danish bassist Jasper Hoiby and Canadian guitarist Michael Occhipinti.
Shepherd has performed at jazz clubs internationally, spanning Japan, China, Europe, North America and Central America, from Tokyo's Cotton Club to London's Jazz Café [4] and Detroit's Cliff Bell's. She has appeared at festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, including Montreal Jazz Festival, ELB Jazz and the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2009, she was invited by British singer Jamie Cullum to open for him at a sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl, alongside Christian McBride. She has also shared the stage with the likes of Bonobo, Five Corners Quintet, Victor Wooten, Spankie Wilson, the JazzCotech Dancers, and the Quantic Soul Orchestra.
Shepherd has appeared on public radio networks around the world including NPR (US), P2 (Sweden), IMER (Mexico), ARD (Germany). She has also performed on The Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio 1 (UK), J-Wave's Modaista (Japan), and Q on CBC Radio (Canada).
She has appeared as a guest vocalist / pianist on albums by various artists, such as MC Abdominal, Peter Appleyard, Michael Occhipinti, Andrea Superstein, Drumhand, and Circle Research.
Beyond her work as a musician, she has also produced albums for Andrea Superstein, Paloma Sky, as well as 5 of her own albums.
With Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding and Jose James, Shepherd is credited with invigorating the vocal jazz song and bringing jazz-influenced music to a younger audience. [9] [10] [11] Real Detroit Weekly has called her "a jazz virtuoso blessed with a pop sensibility", [12] while Mojo Magazine has described her "an intellectual Esperanza Spalding". [9]
Her catalog of 8 original albums has received critical attention internationally. She has been nominated 6 times for a JUNO Award (Canada's Grammy Awards), was recipient of the SOCAN songwriter award (2017) for her song 'Seven Bucks' (produced by Japanese DJ Mitsu), has been twice long-listed for the Polaris Prize (Canada's most prestigious musical award), was twice awarded Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the Canadian INDIES Awards (2007, 2011), was nominated for jazz vocalist of the year at the National Jazz Awards (2009), [13] [14] [15] and received a Word Guild award for her book, 'MONTREAL'.
The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak.
Tanya Tagaq, also credited as Tagaq, is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut, Canada, on the south coast of Victoria Island.
The Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) is a Canadian jazz musical group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2016, it had sixteen members. The group performs mainly music created and arranged by its members. Their present label is True North Records.
Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as management clients.
Elisapie Isaac is a Canadian Inuk musician, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, activist, and actress. She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communication studies in order to become a journalist.
Yvette Tollar is a Canadian jazz vocalist born in Toronto, Ontario. She has released two full-length CDs, Cactus Flowers (2001) and Ima (2008). Ima was a nominee for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.
Julie Crochetière is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and pianist.
Lindi Marie Ortega is a Canadian country singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, who had lived in Nashville, Tennessee then moved to Western Canada in 2017. She spent nearly a decade as an independent artist in the Toronto music scene, releasing two albums and an EP in that time. She has been described as "Toronto's best kept secret" and nicknamed "Indie Lindi". Ortega left Last Gang management and records in November 2017. She has since released Til The Goin' Gets Gone EP and her full-length Liberty on her own label Shadowbox Music. Her voice has been described as a blend of Dolly Parton's, Johnny Cash's, and Emmylou Harris'.
Laila Biali is a Canadian jazz singer and pianist. She has been nominated for and won a Juno Award and has worked with Chris Botti and Sting.
Kellylee Evans is a Canadian jazz and soul music vocalist.
Lisa LeBlanc, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and banjoist, known for her enthusiastic "trash folk" performances. She has been noted for her "distinct" blend of folk, rock, and disco with both English and French language lyrics combined with chiac and her Acadian accent. Her accolades include two Félix Awards and an East Coast Music Award. She has also been nominated for three Juno Awards, the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, and shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize twice.
Stephane Moraille is a Haitian-born singer-songwriter and lawyer from Quebec. She is the granddaughter of the first female lawyer of Haiti, Me Georgette Justin, 1933. She stood for the Bar in 2001, and is currently specializing in media law.
Jennifer Gasoi is a Canadian children's musician, noted for her albums Songs For You and Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well.
Alvvays is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and subsequently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin, Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut studio album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, Antisocialites, was released on September 8, 2017. Their third studio album, Blue Rev, was released on October 7, 2022.
Charlotte Day Wilson is a Canadian contemporary R&B singer-songwriter. She came to prominence in the mid-2010s with her single "Work" and collaborations with other Toronto-based artists like BadBadNotGood and Daniel Caesar. Wilson released her debut album Alpha in July 2021.
Larnell Lewis is a Canadian drummer, composer, producer, and educator. He is best known for playing drums with the Brooklyn-based jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy.
Dominique Fils-Aimé is a Canadian singer from Quebec, whose album Stay Tuned! was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize and won the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2020.
Alexandra Stréliski is a Canadian neo-classical composer and pianist based in Quebec. She has released three albums: Pianoscope (2010), Inscape (2018) and Néo-Romance (2023).
Roberto Occhipinti is a Canadian jazz bassist and composer. He is most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, receiving nominations at the Juno Awards of 2006 for his album Yemaya and at the Juno Awards of 2009 for A Bend in the River.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
