Lizz Wright to Bring Soul-Gospel Fusion to Helsinki Hudson

Lizz Wright

Lizz Wright

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Critically acclaimed soul-gospel vocalist Lizz Wright, whose music spans jazz, gospel, and R&B, will perform an intimate gig at Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at 9pm. Wright can sing a loty spiritual like “Amazing Grace,” and then turn on a dime and render a steamy rendition of “(I’ve Got to Use My) Imagination” by Gladys Knight and the Pips. On a song like “Hit the Ground,” she connects the dots between Ella Fitzgerald and Otis Redding.

Lizz Wright was born in small-town Georgia, and as a child began playing piano and singing in the church where her father was pastor and musical director. Wright subsequently studied voice at Georgia State University while simultaneously working with small jazz combos. In 1999, while sitting in at jam sessions in Atlanta, she was “discovered” and invited to join the Atlanta band, In the Spirit. A year later, Creative Loafing, an Atlanta newspaper, said of Lizz: “Wright is truly a singer’s singer….”
Her debut album, “Salt” (2003), caught the attention of the New York Times, which wrote that Wright’s “astonishing maturity and poise stirs jazz, gospel and rhythm and blues….” Her gospel roots easily flow into her reflective soul style. “Dreaming Wide Awake” (2005) expanded Wright’s interpretive range on an array of material ranging from Fats Waller to Neil Young. Her third release, “The Orchard” (2008), was largely self-penned as she mined her own experiences to create a personal statement. “Fellowship” (2010), her latest CD, continued her genre-defying journey, a nod to her roots in gospel on the one hand and her gospel of eclecticism on the other.

In addition to her own recordings, Wright is a much-in-demand-vocalist, having lent her voice to efforts by Jakob Dylan, Joe Sample, Danilo Perez, David Sanborn, Toots Thielemans, Amos Lee, and Hudson’s own Meshell Ndegecello, who wrote the title track to Wright’s album, “Fellowship.”
For reservations in The Restaurant or in the club call 518.828.4800.

 

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