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Alyse Black Named March “Best Vocalist Of The Month” With Her Song “Sally All My Days”
By Dale Kawashima
Alyse Black, a jazz-influenced pop singer/songwriter based
in Austin, TX, has won the March SingerUniverse “Best Vocalist Of The Month”
Competition, for her performance of her song “Sally All My Days.” This song is
featured on her 12-song CD Too Much & Too Lovely, which she released
independently in late 2007.
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| Alyse Black |
“Sally All My Days” is a distinctive, melodic piano-based
pop tune, which showcases Black’s unique songwriting and performing style. The
song starts off with an intimate piano intro, then segues into a more uptempo,
full-band arrangement. This recording provides an excellent showcase for
Black’s expressive, personal vocal style. She also skillfully produced this
cut, with help from pianist Hans Brehmer.
Black was born in Seattle, WA, and she grew up in a musical
environment – her father (who is a dentist) played ragtime piano for church and
in musicals. She learned to play piano and guitar, and she has been inspired by
such artists as Tori Amos, Billie Holliday and Ani DeFranco. During high
school, she entered several talent competitions and fared well. In addition,
she also performed the lead in musical theatre productions such as Annie.
For college, Black attended the University of Washington,
where she graduated with degrees in International Studies, Business and
Communications. She then landed a good corporate job, but ultimately she
decided to pursue her music career instead. “I wasn’t happy working in the
corporate world,” said Black. “I needed the thrill of being challenged and
fully engaged creatively, and that comes from writing and performing my music.”
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| Alyse Black performing live. |
As a result, Black focused on writing and recording her
album, Too Much & Too Lovely, which she released at the end of 2007.
The CD has attracted favorable reviews and honors – Black recently won first
place in the Jazz category of the Billboard World Song Contest. Also, her songs
have received substantial airplay on indie, college and internet radio
stations. And impressively, her MySpace page has attracted 335,000 visitors to
date.
Recently, Black has moved to Austin, TX, where she is
forming a new band. This May, she will embark on her first tour, playing gigs
in several cities, including festival shows (she is performing this month at
South by Southwest). In addition, she has begun writing songs for her next
album (to be released in 2009), which will introduce more pop/rock elements
into her music, while still mostly maintaining her current pop/jazz sound.
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