Primary Instrument: Vocal
As a lyricist, poet, improviser and vocalist Joanna's writing and compositional style is idiosyncratic and unique. Influenced by great lyricists such as Joni Mitchell, Norma Winstone and Bob Dylan, she has found that her long-term love affair with nonsense poetry has also inspired the way in which she finds stories and poetry within most everything. She loves to play with word and imagery, and of course, melody, rhythm and sound. Spike Wilner, the owner of Small's Jazz Club, NYC, summed it up nicely when he wrote to her “your album is more of a play than a series of songs...”
She has performed in many of London's prestigious Jazz clubs and venues including Ronnie Scotts, The Vortex and The Spice of Life, as well as concert halls such as LSO St Lukes and The Queen Elizabeth Hall.
A few years ago she lived in Paris where she spent three fabulous months busking on the Bridges of the Seine. An adventurer at heart, she decided to discover New York. With the sole aim to meet musicians and sing as much as possible, Jo found herself whisked up in the energy and beautiful and addictive illusion of possibility and creativity. This led to her embarking on her recently released debut album, “WILD SWAN”, which she recorded last December with some of New York's top musicians- Joe Martin on Bass, Art Hirahara on Piano, Rob Garcia on Drums and Sam Newsome on Soprano Saxophone.
She is currently performing in and around London, so keep an eye out on her Dates page to find out where you can see her live.
Joanna is soon to complete her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London on the MMus Jazz performance Program. Her passion for Jazz began at the age of 12 when she was introduced to a record of Ella Fitzgerald and has since continuously explored the musical possibilities within this genre. Joanna graduates in 2012 and is “expected to become a leading figure amongst the new generation of young jazz musicians currently on the London jazz scene”...
Making the major decision to travel from her home in England to record in New York City, vocalist Joanna Wallfisch crossed the pond with a handful of lyrics and melodies in search of the proper musicians to fulfill her determined musical goal, and returned home with an encouraging production to show for it.
“Wild Swan” is very much a vocal album, and a throwback to harmonious connections of poetic verse and music. She possesses a crystalline voice which displays her years of studies, refinement, and confidence which might be her strongest asset. Though the majority of the selections are originals, there are recognized gems as the Jimmy Rowles/Norma Winstone tune “The Peacocks (A Timeless Place)” Pete Townshend’s “Blue Red and Grey,” and the perennial “Suzanne,” by Leonard Cohen.
Though she is quite comfortable with the gentle characters in her songs “Nights are Made For Dreaming,” and the title track, it just might be “Leopard Print Shoes,” with its colorful imagery, which would best describe Joanna Wallfisch as a vocalist taking risks and crossing musical chasms without a net. With her production of “Wild Swan” she proves that there is still plenty of room in the jazz world for a woman’s view of romance and adventure.
