I STILL RISE, the title of the newest album by LISA RICH, came to her during a time of national protest. Unable to march with the crowds, she did what she has always done: she sang. She sat down and wrote a poem, then took it to the piano and set it to a minor blues — “How Can We Sing About Freedom?” — a song of resilience, her way of speaking through music to a troubled world.

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Rich continued her recording comeback in 2024 with Long As You’re Living, which JW Vibe praised as “exquisite, exciting, and surprise-filled…her eclectic set finds her in giddy, happy-to-be-alive mode from the start, infusing the cheery, life-affirming title track with her wild and witty phrasing and whimsical, multi-octave scatting.” The album reached #51 on the JazzWeek chart and marked her first release since Highwire, which was recorded in 1987 and released in 2019 as the beginning of her comeback. Earlier in her career, Rich recorded two other acclaimed albums: Touch of the Rare (1985) with the Clare Fischer Quartet and Listen Here (1983).

Before stepping away from the stage, Rich’s career was flourishing. She performed historic concerts in China, sang in India, appeared at the Kennedy Center, served as an artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution, and was frequently heard on NPR and Voice of America. When performing became impossible, she turned her focus to teaching and became a respected and influential voice teacher in Washington, D.C.

Rich credits her return to singing to the unwavering support of her close friend, the late jazz vocalist and master teacher Jay Clayton. During the pandemic, Rich began taking online lessons with Clayton twice a week. “She told me that if I could picture myself clearly and in detail accomplishing my dream, it would come true,” Rich says. “And it did.” Clayton traveled to Washington, D.C. to produce Long As You’re Living. Rich brought in Marc Copland and Drew Gress, friends from New York she has known for many years, while Clayton introduced her to trumpeter Dave Ballou. Clayton passed away in December 2023; Long As You’re Living is dedicated to her memory.

For I STILL RISE, Rich reunites with the same band from Long As You’re Living. She has known pianist MARC COPLAND since 1978; the prolific artist has recorded more than three dozen albums as a leader and appeared on many more as a sideman. She has known bassist DREW GRESS for over 40 years; one of New York’s most celebrated bassists, he has performed across Europe, Asia, and North and South America, and can be heard on recordings with Fred Hersch, Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, and Marc Copland, among many others. Trumpeter DAVE BALLOU has performed with jazz luminaries including Sheila Jordan, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, and Maria Schneider. He also worked closely with the late Gunther Schuller and was a featured soloist for the world premiere of Schuller’s Encounters.

Rich wanted to explore a different sonic palette — one without drums. “I liked the idea of creating more space for my voice and for the intimate interaction it allows with the other musicians.”

Rich’s warm, syrupy tone, hip phrasing, and tasteful, unforced scatting shine throughout the album. The group’s inspired interplay reflects decades of friendship and shared musical language. Rich selected the songs, but what unfolded in the studio was largely spontaneous — the introductions, the improvisations, and even the endings were created entirely in the moment. The entire album was recorded in just two days.

The tone is set immediately with the opening track, an unplanned and unrehearsed vocal-bass duet on “No Moon at All.” Rich simply pulled out the sheet music in the studio, and she and Gress began improvising. Rich and Copland bring a plaintive tenderness to Bill Evans’ “The Two Lonely People.” Next, Rich performs Jay Clayton’s instrumental “Beginner” as both the introduction and closing of her own “How Can We Sing About Freedom?” — a tribute to Clayton’s enduring influence as her mentor and beloved friend.

Rich sings “Estate” — Italian for “summer,” a heartbreaking song of longing and loss — in the original Italian. On Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” — the best-selling jazz single of all time — Rich offers a fresh, effervescent interpretation highlighted by joyful scatting. After hearing Rich’s recording of Denny Zeitlin’s “Quiet Now,” the composer wrote: “Wow, you are a helluva singer. I love your version of ‘Quiet Now.’ I love the timbre of your voice, your phrasing, the level of relaxation, the confidence, the way you inhabit the lyrics.” Kitty Margolis contributed lyrics to Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” retitled “Ancient Footprints,” with Ballou adding soulful, harmonizing trumpet lines.

Rich first performed “Like Someone in Love” with the Clare Fischer band, the Baltimore Symphony, and in China — but it took decades before the song finally found its place on a record. Ballou contributes a beautifully shaped solo on “Never Let Me Go,” which Rich delivers with heartfelt clarity. She closes the album with Thelonious Monk’s “It’s Over Now (Well, You Needn’t),” featuring her percussive scatting and Ballou’s deft muted trumpet.

Writing in Paris-Move, Thierry De Clemensat — who has followed Rich’s music since the 1980s — finds in the album “something increasingly rare: music that does not demand to be heard but quietly insists on being felt.” Author and lyricist Tony Cohan, known for his work with Chick Corea, says it simply: “This album doesn’t just sing about freedom. It exemplifies it.”

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Thank you to Mouthpiece Music for sharing with us