Music
Press
"Beyond the charts and their restricted repertoire you sometimes discover pearls of music and female singers who really have something to say. Joy's enrapturing voice flatters, denies, promises, lies and compliments you, all at the same time and always honestly. She has something that you rarely find in today's music scene." - KULTUR!NEWS, Germany
"Very rarely do melodies move into your ears as charmingly as they do when listening to this album. If you are in love or are about to fall in love buy this album and surprise someone with these wonderful pop odes." - DISCOVER, Germany
Discography
Paradise (2002) -GoJazz (europe)/Nardis (US)
Let's Get It On single (2002) -GoJazz (europe)
Photos
Bio
Leo and Joy met on the jazz scene in Madison, Wisconsin in 2000, playing at jam sessions and occasional gigs together, but it would take a single defining event to kickstart their collaborative efforts. In October of 2000 they were invited to perform at a political rally at the State Capitol in Madison in front of 30,000 people. This was their first performance as a duo, and they realized sometime during that performance that they shared a deep musical connection.
Both Joy and Leo are singer songwriters with diverse musical backgrounds. Joy was raised on folk, gospel and country music before she embraced jazz and soul music. Leo was fed a diet of jazz and r&b as a child, and later came to include more folk elements into his music.
Joy Dragland started singing when she was a young child. She inherited her talent from her father, who taught her about country music and gospel. Joy started out singing in small coffee shops in Wisconsin. While she was at the University of Wisconsin earning her degree in English literature, she honed her skills both as a jazz singer and as a songwriter. Her love of literature is evident in her lyrics and her approach to story telling.
Leo Sidran was raised in a musical family as well. The son of jazz musician, producer Ben Sidran, Leo started writing songs at a young age. By the time he was 15 he had written and recorded for the Steve Miller Band and had started working on his first solo recording. Since then he has gone on to work with many artists the world over, including Clementine (France), Gege Telesforo (Italy), Mark Murphy (US), and of course Ben Sidran. In addition, Leo has released two solo records.
The duo recorded their first CD, Paradise during the winter-spring of 2001. The critical response to Paradise was tremendous. It was first released in Europe with sparkling reviews, and the first single "Let's Get It On" debuted in the Top 40 pop radio charts in Spain.
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