Jean Synodinos
Country of origin:
U.S.A.
Type of music generally:
Contemporary folk
Status:
Most recent release, Love & Blood (2015)
See also:
Jean Synodinos's site
Comparisons:
Michelle Shocked
Covers/own material:
Mix of own compositions, covers, and co-written material
General comments:
Jean Synodinos has a lovely, rich voice. Her musical style ranges through varieties of folk flavoured with country, pop, jazzy horns. Her music is a mix of her own work and a few covers. Her stylings are somewhat conventional, but done with energy and passion. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Recommended first album:
Girls, Good & Otherwise
Recordings:
- Lucky (2003)
- Breathe (2006)
- Girls, Good & Otherwise (2011)
- Love & Blood (2015)
Lucky
Release info:
2003—Fortunate Records—FR011
Availability:
See Jean Synodinos's website
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Jean Synodinos—lead vocals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Guest artists:
Charles Rieser—electric guitar, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, B3, mandolin, mandotar, vibraphones, shaker, late night kick drum, drum loop
Charles Searles—drums, percussion
Glenn Kawamoto—bass
Wayne Sutton—electrion guitar
Mac McNabb—electric guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar
David Hamburger—National guitar
Earl Poole Ball—piano
The Grooveline Horns
Carlos Sosa—tenor saxophone, alto saxophone
Fernando Castillo—trumpet
Raul "Rolo" Vellajo—trombone
Ephraim Owens—muted trumpet
Steve Bernal—cello
Rob Hooper—vibraphones, corrupted drum loop
Catherine Berry—backing vocals
Produced by:
Charles Rieser and Jean Synodinos
Comments:
This is an interesting and well-constructed collection of songs. Jean Synodinos's lovely alto vocals are the central force, uniting the songs which sometimes feel jazzy, sometimes a little country, sometimes bluesy. Her "Gospel According to John" is a deadringer for Michelle Shocked's folk/rock sound, and come to think of it, her (excellent, by the way) cover of "Ode to Billy Joe" has that feel as well, though on other tracks, such as the bluesy "Time Take Time" or the jazzy, carefree "Sure Thing", the similarity is less evident. Contemporary folk fans should check her out. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Girls, Good & Otherwise
Release info:
2011—Fortune Records—FR-033/2012
Availability:
See Jean Synodinos's website
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jean Synodinos—vocals, acoustic guitar, ukulele, electric sitar, keyboards
Guest artists:
Charles Rieser—electric guitar, acoustic guitars (all tracks); vibratone, omnichord (1); drum loops, keyboards (2); odd noises (10)
Bruce Hughes—bass (all tracks); backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 5, 11
)Rob Hooper—drums, percussion (all tracks)
Red Young—B3, keyboards (1, 4, 5, 6)
Redd Volkaert—electric guitar (9)
John Pointer—cello (3, 10); human beatbox (2)
Carlos Sosa—saxophone (8)
Katie Gosnell—backing vocals 3)
Produced by:
Charles Rieser
Comments:
Jean Synodinos has a warm, relaxed sound and a lovely voice. All of that is in prefect synch on this album. "Five things to do today" is an ironic account of a prefect life with a bluesy feel. "Full Moon Eclipsing" is a sumptuous track with a great lyric and a vocal that's as good as ever. "The Scissors to my rock" is a tough yet relaxed little song witn an ace lyric. It's an utterly brilliant album. (starnell@yahoo.com)
Thanks to Anna Maria Stjärnell and Sophia Gurley for work on this entry.
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