Rising Star Vocalist Returns With New Album & UK Tour Dates.

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Songs With My Father, is the new album by the remarkably gifted jazz singer Emily Masser. While still a student at The Guildhall School Of Music And Drama, 20-year-old Masser’s burgeoning talent has already attracted very positive attention from jazz luminaries such as Claire Martin and Liane Carroll, who have both praised Emily for her original approach to interpretation, making timeless classics sound newly minted and excitingly different. Her notable contribution to the respected Clark Tracey Quintet’s album ‘Introducing Emily Masser’ further highlighted Emily’s musical prowess, gaining a wide range of accolades and prompting UK Jazz News to describe her as a “New Star of British Jazz”. Emily’s new work Songs With My Father is an album dedicated to Emily’s late mother, featuring her father Dean Masser on saxophone and an all-star rhythm section: in-demand Hungarian pianist Matyas Gayer (Eddie Henderson, Scott Hamilton), rising-star bassist James Owston (Xhosa Cole, Greg Abate), and ultra-swinging drummer Steve Brown (Scott Hamilton, Barry Harris).

Songs With My Father features a mix of modern twists on jazz standards and also highlights Emily’s vocal approach to bebop. The songs and arrangements explore a range of moods: from the DNA-fuelled soli sections to the more reflective side in ‘Song For My Mother’ and ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’, which Emily first sang at her mother’s funeral. Meanwhile, tracks like ‘Dat Dere’ tap into the fun, silly side of the father-daughter relationship, with a vocalese reflecting how Emily and Dean’s bond has changed over the years. Speaking about the album, Emily says*: “Songs With My Father is an album I made in memory of my Mum, Gill, who passed away just before I moved to London to study at The Guildhall. Many of these songs were her favourites, and recording them with my Dad has been such a special experience, bringing me closer to both of them. Working with him on this album was incredible, and I’m so grateful to have played with such an amazing band….I’m beyond excited to share this album, and I hope if my mum is listening, she’s smiling wherever she is.”*

The eminent critic and broadcaster Alyn Shipton adds: “Emily Masser was my pick for a “Taking Off” feature in Jazzwise magazine in early 2024. This album shows exactly why - displaying the range of her very individual talent from the heart-rendingly beautiful “I’ll Be Seeing You” to the mischievous evocation of childhood in “Dat Dere”, not to mention the sheer fun of “Old Devil Moon”. The father- daughter empathy is evident throughout, particularly on “Song For My Mother”, but there’s also splendid support, from the romping to the sensitive, by the rhythm team of Gayer, Owston and Brown.” The album is a fitting tribute and an endearing nod to the relationship between two excellent cross-generational musicians accompanied by a rhythm section displaying pure synergy.

Self-Released

Recorded at Steinway Recordings by Spencer Cozens

Mixed and Mastered at Quiet Money Recordings by James McMillan

Personnel: Emily Masser (vocals), Dean Masser (saxophone), Matyas Gayer (piano), James Owston (bass) and Steve Brown (Drums)

Emily Masser website click here

Thank you to Rupert Burley from Dynamic Agency for sharing with us

TOUR DATES:

01/02 – Southport Jazz Festival (Album Launch), The Grand, Southport 11/02 – Norwich Jazz Club

12/02 – Head Of Steam, Huddersfield 19/02 – 606 Club, Chelsea

20/02 – Chesterfield Jazz Club

22/02 – Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham 25/02 – Kingston Upon Hull

26/02 – Scarborough Jazz 28/02 – Wakefield Jazz Clun

03/03 – Pizza Express (Soho), London

06/03 – Alsager Golf & Country Club, Stoke on Trent 07/03 – Bodle Street Green, Hailsham

10/03 – Spice Of Life (Soho), London 11/03 – Eastside Jazz Club, London 19/03 – Concorde Club, Eastleigh 22/03 – The Bear Club, Luton