Alyse Black
Austin, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2007 | SELF
Music
Press
Alyse hits home with every track enough to mesmerize a person... The music of Alyse Black transcends all genres, demographics and more... My audience is always hinged for more! - Kit from Kit's Korner on KRIM-FM 96.3 in Payson, Arizona
There are some voices that stop you in your tracks and make you listen, and Alyse Black is a great example. - George Smyth
Listeners looking for something fresh and new should check out the debut CD from singer-songwriter Alyse Black.
The Austin, Texas-based newcomer brings together an eclectic mix of original pop and jazz songs on Too Much & Too Lovely. The 12-track CD includes "Stood For Stand For," which earned Black first-place honors in Billboard's 2007 World Song Contest in the jazz category. The moody ballad showcases Black's silky vocals, which are backed by a low-key but strong ensemble of piano, trumpet, bass, and drums.
Black has been compared to a host of different female vocalists, including Regina Spektor, Feist, Fiona Apple, and Kate Bush. One more to add to the list is Tori Amos. All of these singers fall into the indie-pop genre, and that's a category that suits Black but is too narrow to define her. The CD kicks off with "Emeline," a catchy pop tune that has all the playfulness of Spektor's singing and the wonderment of Amos' lyrics. Black sounds as lovely as Bush throughout the CD, especially on the beautiful "Sally All My Days."
Despite the many comparisons, Black is her own woman, with a strong, sultry voice and a point of view that comes out in her lyrics. A jazz influence that also helps her stand out from the crowd gives her another hue in her colorful palette.
Too Much & Too Lovely is an impressive, original debut. - JazzReview.com - Donna Kimura
A natural songwriting talent and vocal skills... She’s often and obviously compared to Tori Amos or Norah Jones, but somehow, especially in the ballads, she makes me think of a whispering Björk on the verge of a laugh attack (she’s constantly smiling, as if in a trance). Her songs swallow you whole, and there’s nothing you can do about it. (By Enrique Lopetegui)
Fans adore her smooth, come-hither voice and cleverly spun lyrics... Like a sonic speedball, her smooth-as-butter jazz sensibility mixes with her frisky, spirited voice to produce one helluva listening high. (By Abbie Kopf) - Various
Vocals that are just out of this world. Alyse sings with pure sincerity...and her voice has just a hint of loose bluesy-ness that makes it absolutely warm and appealing. Twelve spellbinding tunes here. - BabySue.com
Black boldly channels Bjork, Billie, and Bush (Kate, not GW). Best yet, this jazzy, arty, oddball epic also sounds like Alyse Black more than any of her influences. - Roctober Magazine
One can't fault Ms. Black for her oft nakedly sensual delivery throughout ["Hold Onto This"] (catch Willowing for a high point) in a voice combining Katrina (and the Wave), Edie Brickell, and Tori Amos with and a be-bop era pulse, Rickie Lee-esque in its hip tones and beat.
The overall feel of this CD is somber even though it has energetic areas, and Black embellishes well with her own keyboards abetted by a quartet of helpers. There's a gauzy Kate Bush air here, a Drowning Not Waving soporific tone there, an October Project wistfulness prevalently, and a hushed 4AD undercurrent pervasively, so this means romance a-plenty. Hold Onto This is a great disc to get melancholy over, novo-madrigal with its largo'ed blues and unrequited—or over-requited or even unlocated—true love Byronic laments. - Mark S. Tucker
Jazz winner Alyse Black brought her song “Stood For Stand For” into the realm of instant classic with smooth delivery and dynamic presence. Strikingly pretty with a voice to match, her recent move to Austin, Texas would mean the Lone Star State isn’t so ‘lone’ anymore. - Mark Furnas
Her voice is captivating: rich and velvety in the lower, quieter sections; clean, articulate, and never shrill or nasal in the upper range and in loud passages…and always with dead-on pitch! - 103.1 KCDA
Alyse Black's fourth full-length cuts into distinct halves. The first, which plays like an anthology of Nineties pop vocalists, seems guided by producer Eric Rosse, who's behind female singer-songwriter greats such as Sara Bareilles and Tori Amos. The collaboration epitomizes best in slick lead-off "My Body Is Burning," with Black's throaty alto carrying the timbre of Jewel and peppering in spoken asides à la Alanis Morissette. Then, "Won't Let You Down," the seventh track of 10 on Alyse Black, signals a shift to blues-tinged confessionals. That's where the singer shines. Where Black's voice feels constrained in pop, it rises above the gentle thrumming of guitar lines and warbly electric organ to a full blast of blues on "Make Love + Laughter," navigating her impressive range from falsetto to belting and back with ease. Although her voice transfixes throughout the album, it's the latter portion that's truly intoxicating. - Austin Chronicle
Discography
Alyse is in the process of recording her re-debut as well as three additional side-projects. These are anticipated to release throughout 2014.
"A Little Line of Kisses" released with side-project band 'Night, Sweet Pea in late 2012.
"The Triple Door Sessions LIVE" released fall 2011.
"The Honesty EP" released in spring 2011. Alyse' most bare-bones and revealing work to date. The album release party at The Triple Door in Seattle was sold out and at One World Theatre in Austin was a huge hit.
"Hold Onto This," Alyse' sophomore full-length album released in late 2009. It is currently available for publishing and label deals.
"Too Much & Too Lovely" released in late 2007. It can be purchased at Amazon, CDBaby, iTunes, as well as a host of other sites. The album release party at The Triple Door in Seattle, WA, was played to a packed house.
Alyse has also been part of numerous compilation albums, including "Bad Girls Don't Cry" and "Mad Love Fast Love" with Amy Winehouse and Duffy.
Alyse released an EP with a Latin-jazz love-song group, Thursty Love, in early 2007.
Photos
Bio
People keep saying that Alyse Black’s music "sounds like falling in love." That it sounds like acceptance and sensuality and raw vulnerable humanness. With an aching, soul-touching voice, her award-winning songs inspire people to goosebumps and wrap them up in velvet.
And there's a reason why people feel loved when they hear Alyse' music. "I truly just love people. I love the human spirit. I love being alive, even though it is so hard," she explains. "We exist in a world of tattered love and precious hope. We all feel so broken. I want to look into every heart I meet and say, "I love you. Exactly like you are.""
Alyse started out belting Billie Holiday tunes a cappella on the streets of Pike Place Market in Seattle for pocket change. Since then, she's performed on NPR, recorded a commercial for Target, moved to Austin, won Billboard's Annual Songwriting Contest, had several songs placed in movies and TV shows, garnered an endorsement deal with Fishman Amps, and toured the country playing nearly 700 clubs, theaters, festivals, television shows and radio stations. She recently won The Recording Conservatory of Austin’s Top Singer-Songwriter Contest and ran a successful Kickstarter to fund her long-awaited next album.
Alyse is currently recording that third full-length album with producer Eric Rosse (Sara Barielles, Mary Lambert, Tori Amos), drummer Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Dido), and bassist Mark Browne (Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Jewel).
Born on the island of Seattle, Alyse first took earthly form to sing alone on stage at 5. She spent her teens touring Europe with her choir, living abroad, and toying mercilessly with the emotions of several musical instruments.
Convinced that her musical aspirations were “impractical,” Alyse deigned it necessary to earn a slew of degrees from the University of Washington, but the voices calling couldn’t be denied.
In response to suicidal thoughts, Alyse jumped thirty stories down from her "responsible" career (a mere six months after she began it) in order to sing a cappella for pocket change on the streets of Pike Place Market. A local pianist wandered by, stood captivated for a moment, and then asked Alyse to join his band for a show that very night. There was no looking back.
Alyse exposed her debut solo LP, “Too Much & Too Lovely,” that same year. She was shocked and pleased that her ditties, “Stood for Stand for” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?,” had won Billboard’s Annual World Song Contest as well as the Independent Singer-Songwriter Awards. She moved to Austin, Texas, and then spent 2008 touring “Too Much & Too Lovely.”
Alyse released her sophomore album, “Hold Onto This,” with producer Ryan Hadlock (Foo Fighters, Ra Ra Riot, The Strokes) in 2009. She toured the new album across the states, playing over 300 shows in 2009 and 2010, including numerous festivals, television shows, and radio shows. She ended 2010 with an interview on Seattle’s NPR.
After having her daughter, Scarlett Olivia, in 2011, Black released an EP, “The Honesty EP,” as well as a live album, “The Triple Door Sessions LIVE,” at Austin’s premier One World Theatre and Seattle’s illustrious Triple Door. She also recorded a radio commercial for Target around then.
In 2012, Alyse formed 'Night, Sweet Pea with fellow Austin singer-songwriters Shawnee Kilgore and William Wallace. They released a sweet little lullabies-for-everyone album, called, "A Little Line of Kisses."
Over the next few years Alyse wrote 123 song for her next record, released a 3-song record with producer Mark Hallman, and ran a very successful Kickstarter for her next full-length record.
Currently, Alyse is putting the final touches on her big re-debut album with producer Eric Rosse, expected to release in early 2016. Alyse is also hard at work on side projects in three-part harmony americana and downtempo acid-jazz. She tours the country regularly with her two Little humans, spreading as much love and warmth and acceptance as possible.
Band Members
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