New York City-based, British vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Joanna Wallfisch, is thrilled to announce her summer West Coast tour, "The Great Song Cycle", celebrating the release of her third album Gardens In My Mind (Sunnyside Records, out July 22, 2016). Joanna has decided to travel in a less conventional way for a touring musician and take to the road on her bicycle, performing shows in more than ten cities between Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California. Traveling with her ukulele and loop pedals, she will perform the music from her new album, stripped down to acoustic solo sets. In Joanna’s own words, she wants to "draw on the sense of adventure and joie de vivre, fueled by the immeasurable power of song itself."
Musically, Joanna has taken plenty of risks, blending her jazz background with a variety of genres. The Boston Globe says, “Wallfisch combines the intimate purview of a singer-songwriter with the technical liberties of a jazz improviser.” DownBeat raves about Joanna, saying “her focused, crystalline delivery will melt any purist’s heart,” while The New York Times calls Wallfisch “an introspective singer-songwriter” who is “sensitive and deep.” As a case in point, her new record Gardens in My Mind intricately weaves the artist’s sensibilities of singer-songwriter, folk, contemporary and indie music around her poetic lyrics. The 14-track album features Joanna on vocals, piano and ukulele along with internationally renowned pianist, Dan Tepfer, and award-winning London-based ensemble, The Sacconi Quartet. Gardens is the much anticipated follow-up to Joanna’s critically acclaimed last album, The Origin of Adjustable Things (Sunnyside Records, 2015), which was rated Number 6 in the 2015 NPR critics poll for Best Jazz Vocal album, and received 4.5 stars in DownBeat.
Born in London to musician parents (classical cellist Raphael Wallfisch and violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch), Joanna learned to go beyond boundaries throughout her musical career from an early age. After completing her masters in jazz performance from London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she relocated to New York City where she recorded and independently released her debut solo album, Wild Swan, in 2011. Over the past five years, Joanna has toured or worked with renowned jazz artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Fred Hersch, Lee Konitz, Joe Martin, Sam Newsome and Dan Tepfer. Joanna has also had her music placed on film soundtracks, including Pressure, All the Beautiful Things and Summer in February, and she is currently the voice for Hillshire Farms’ national ad campaign.
Catch this unique artist when she bicycles to one of the cities below, and be sure to pluck a copy of the new Joanna Wallfisch album, Gardens in My Mind, when it blooms on July 22nd!
The Great Song Cycle
August 3 – TBD Portland, OR TBD
August 6 – 10:00 AM Eugene, OR Eugene Saturday Market
August 6 – 8:30 PM Cottage Grove, OR The Axe & Fiddle Public House
August 12 – 7:00 PM Arcata, CA The Sanctuary
August 17 – TBD Petaluma, CA TBD
August 19 – 7:00 PM Oakland, CA The Octopus Literary Salon
August 20 – 7:30 PM San Francisco, CA Red Poppy Art House
August 25 – 7:00 PM Capitola, CA Zizzo's Coffeehouse & Wine Bar
August 28 – 10:30 AM Carmel, CA Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula
September 3 – TBD Ojai, CA TBD
September 8 – TBD Los Angeles, CA TBD
For tour updates:
www.joannawallfisch.com