muzycy:
Mark Dresser: acoustic bass
Jen Shyu: vocals

2011 Rhapsody Jazz Critics Poll Best Vocal Album #2

“Ms. Shyu is among New York’s most invigorating vocal presences. And perhaps the most enigmatic.”
By Larry Blumenfeld, The Wall Street Journal

“There have been vocal-and-bass albums, but none have sounded like this… her intervallic leaps tug on the ear and reward a deep listen to this challenging set.”
By Mike Shanley, Jazz Times

“The pair find a wealth of colors and moods within the seemingly limited palette of voice and bass… The vocalist’s control is remarkable.”
By Shaun Brady, DownBeat


Synastry is a partnership between the ground breaking vocalist Jen Shyu and master bassist Mark Dresser that demonstrates new possibilities for vocal and bass improvisation. They reveal a remarkable chemistry together, evoking a range of emotions from plaintively wistful to emotionally intense, with lyrical imagery that is fantastically surreal. A member since 2003 of influential saxophonist Steve Coleman’s band Five Elements, Shyu is well known for her tonally exacting and rhythmically incisive singing. On Synastry, accompanied only by Dresser’s acoustic bass, her voice is thrown into stark relief, giving full evidence to her complete control of microtonal shadings, her deep sense of rhythm, and highly developed ear for lyrical and melodic improvisation. In addition to English and Chinese, she sings in a wholly improvised vocalese that utilizes phonemes derived from her fluency of seven different languages learned through her research of indigenous music in Indonesia, East Timor, China, Taiwan, Brazil and Cuba. Dresser, who is well known for using extended technique to tap the full sonic potential of the acoustic bass, envelops Shyu’s voice in an aura of intimate mystery.

What makes Synastry special is the musical cohesion between Shyu and Dresser. .......
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