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The Light and the Dark

by Kristin Berardi

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1.
2.
A Lie 06:44
3.
4.
5.
6.
Slow Waltz 05:49
7.
8.
Too Late 06:06
9.
Bunker 05:45
10.
Gratitude 02:46

about

Vocalist Kristin Berardi’s new release, The Light and the Dark, brings to light the beauty and injustices that occur in life. Expect honesty, raw emotion, and dynamic performances from modern jazz luminaries including trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, pianist Miro Sprague, double bassist Marty Jaffe, and drummer Jerome Jennings. Guest appearances include saxophonist Troy Roberts and bassist Sam Anning, who also produced the session.

“This album is an offering of solace,” reflects Kristin. “It’s one thing to intellectually know that one’s life can contain blessings and trials, but at times you can feel so alone as you are making your way through the tougher days.” For Kristin, the album hopes to capture the stories, the sounds, and the intention of all those present: “You will hear the light and the dark, the deception and the truth, the collapse and the rise, which you will no doubt know only too well.”

After receiving Australia Council for the Arts support, Kristin and bassist-cum-producer Sam Anning ventured from Brisbane and Melbourne respectively to New York City to record with some of their favourite musicians. “Each of these pieces are about real people, from real life. All of the musicians took so much care to understand and capture the essence of the music,” explains Kristin.

The Light and the Dark shuns the tradition of typical jazz vocal albums, where the singer is the main attraction, and the musicians need to express something meaningful in often a short number of bars. “I wanted to allow space for the musicians to express and be open to anything musically,” reflects Kristin. “I aimed to provide a vehicle for the band to be fully present and flow where the music took them.”

Sam Anning’s musical integrity and creative finesse were invaluable in putting the collaboration together. “From his ears in the rehearsal time, to writing some crazy ‘soli’ lines, to helping with the wordless song, Bunker, the night before, to him hearing added vocal parts at the end of A Lie - Sam was completely invested in the music and was able to communicate what it needed to all present,” reflects Kristin.

One of the pieces on the album is by fellow Australian, Mark Sholtez. Mark had much success with the Verve jazz label as a singer and has had an ongoing connection with Kristin. “Mark and I were dreaming up collaborations, when he showed me the track What you Want,” explains Kristin. “This song really touched me. It was as if he seemed to have written a song about exactly how I was feeling at that time. It took me the best part of a year to be able to sing it through without crying, so I am thankful he shared it with me when he did! To sing this song with my friend Miro Sprague, who plays it with tenderness indescribable, was just such a privilege.”

Ingrid Jensen is one of her generations’ most gifted trumpeters, and a highly in-demand trumpeter in the New York scene. Kristin reflects, “Ingrid’s tone on this record is a tribute to the role she has had in my life - encouraging me, calling me onwards, to keep striving and growing, and to keep searching for beauty in music. Ingrid lifts any band she is a part of, and she had the same effect on this session.”

Double bassist Marty Jaffe is a strong and versatile regular on the New York City scene. He and pianist Miro Sprague have a long standing musical connection, and this is evident in the way they compliment and anticipate each other. “Marty’s attention to detail and his incredible facility on the double bass is astonishing,” explains Kristin. “He also shows his gorgeous arco playing in Slow Waltz - the perfect addition to this piece. Miro’s deep connection to beauty and to groove is always on display.” Miro has been an active member of the New York and LA scenes for many years, and is highly regarded for his writing and his work with singers such as Sara Gazarek.

Drummer Jerome Jennings has worked with the Lincoln Centre Orchestra, through to Sonny Rollins. When Kristin met Jerome in Brisbane, she knew he would be the right fit for the music. “This turned out to be the right decision as throughout the rehearsal and recording he took great care in understanding each story, finding the right sounds to shape the mood and development of each song,” explains Kristin. “His empathy, integrity and drive can be felt in this recording.”

New York based Australian saxophonist Troy Roberts tours with an array of his own projects as well as part of bands led by drummer Jeff Tain Watts and organist Joey DeFrancesco. He graces one track on the album, Bunker, named after the recording studio used in Brooklyn. This track was written to feature the horns players - Ingrid and Troy. Kristin recalls, “The three front line (Ingrid, Troy and Kristin) improvise together at one point on this track - it’s a real highlight on the album for me! I have admired Troy’s playing since I first heard him in 1999 and have followed his career with such interest and respect. I was thrilled to feature him on this album.”

Sam Anning has a world wide reputation as a bass player, and composer, having toured extensively throughout Australia, North America and Europe. The Light and the Dark is his first album to produce. Sam and Kristin have played together for ten years, and have developed much respect and trust. “Sam is a highly skilled musician who is kind, and diplomatic; he was able to get the best out of all present for those rehearsals and two days of recording,” explains Kristin.

Soaring power and delicate nuances make Kristin Berardi one of Australia’s most gifted jazz singers. She is universally acknowledged as a vocalist of rare talent and technique that continues to astonish, and endear herself to, audiences around the world. Her music uses the voice to advocate for the lesser known stories, telling a myriad of personal reflections on life, relationships, love and the everyday trappings of one’s existence. Having received every notable Australian jazz prize, as well as the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival’s International Vocal Competition, Kristin’s original compositions and peerless interpretations showcase her exquisite timbre and effortless improvisations. Originally from Mackay, in far northern-eastern Australia, she now resides in Lucerne, Switzerland, a staff member at the HSLU - Institute of Jazz and Folk Music. Berardi has released 13 solo albums and worked with an increible list of artists throughout Australia, Europe and North America, including Kenny Werner, Thomas Morgan and Dan Tepfer.

credits

released October 14, 2022

Kristin Berardi - vocals
Ingrid Jensen - trumpet
Miro Sprague - piano
Marty Jaffe - double bass
Jerome Jennings - drums
Troy Roberts - saxophone (track 9)
Sam Anning - additional bass (track 6)

ABOUT THE MUSIC
1. The Light and the Dark
This story sets the tone for the album - offering out the idea that one’s life will have times that feel like sunlight, safety, joy, and other times that feel like you are lost or engulfed in pain. Set within a seemingly playful motif, the lyrics begin as though the person is just talking to someone they know very well.
To acknowledge that at times, we may feel as if there is no hope, and in the same lifetime, or perhaps within that week, know also the gift of pure joy, is one of the challenges of life. Our society tends to suggest we feel one thing or another - that we feel joy or pain, or we are lost, or with direction. The older I get, the more I am trying to see how much I can be in multiple states or feelings, and that perhaps that is ok.
Perhaps it is just all a part of a rich life.



2. A Lie
This track introduces Ingrid’s distinctive sound and presence to the group, sonically. Ingrid’s solo builds so well from this place of groove, to a strong climax. The solo section begins over the form, but then shifts towards chaos to portray the havoc and disorder that occurs in such scenarios.The layering of the harmonies in the outro build with the drum solo, ending with bass and voice.

3. He was a Loaded Gun
This tune was composed spontaneously one day. It was originally written for duo bass and voice, recorded and released on Kristin’s award winning duo album with Sam Anning, Our Songs, Not Songs (Earshift Music). Anyone who has experienced abuse will know this land - manipulation, lies, betrayal, a kind hero to the outside world and a ruler and one to be feared in the home. Rage underneath the surface. Miro’s solo on this is superb - hearing him take a form and adding and changing it - like a musical magician.

4. What you Want
This track features Miro and Kristin in duo format. Miro is such a masterful pianist, his pristine playing supports the lyric beautifully, and Kristin expresses the story clothed in vulnerability.

5. Full of the New
This piece was written while Kristin was wandering around San Francisco after a tour to the USA with Miro Sprague. Travel and new sights and sounds give energy and inspiration for new creations, and the excitement of new is something Kristin treasures. There is a playfulness that the band certainly captured on this track.

6. Slow Waltz
One of Kristin’s big influences is American bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. Slow Waltz is a song she wrote years ago in the hope of capturing the type of songwriting and mood evoking type of song that Krauss so masterfully presents to the world. This track features two fabulous bassists Marty Jaffe and Sam Anning, with lyrical interplay from Marty in the final verse through to the end.

7. Can’t Be Wrong
Some people are not interested in growth, they keep busy, they keep away from their own emotions. Some people are reasonable and have a back and forth conversation. For some people the usual rules do not apply. Some will always be right but it comes at a cost. The improvisation section here displays the uncomfortable place of dealing with someone who is avoiding their inner work; who is difficult; and likes to have chaos and drama within their world in order to keep from the things that actually haunt them.

8. Too Late
Contemplating feelings that can not be acted upon. These fantasies are given a place to rest in this bossa nova type of cloud - music is always a safe place to land. Again, the playing on this track is so sensitive to the story.

9. Bunker
Written for the band as a whole, a simple vehicle which could be taken by the soloists to explore and express. Kristin presented this in the rehearsal, and Sam came up with the missing parts that evening. A weaving and intersecting melody between the horns and voice, into soli and solo sections.

10. Gratitude
A ballad of gratitude for the unexpected beauty that life can contain.

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Kristin Berardi Switzerland

Originally from Koumala, a tiny country town in North Queensland, jazz vocalist Kristin Berardi made National headlines when she won the Montreux Jazz Festival’s International Vocal Competition in 2006. Kristin’s warmth and incredible vocal control have made her a favourite with Australian, European and NY audiences and has established a reputation as Australia’s finest young singer. ... more

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