Music
Press
"This Singer/Songwriter has made a new record that sounds like Martin Denny hosting an early 60's luau for Roy Orbison and Nancy Sinatra with The Jayhawks time traveling to crash the party"
- Paste Magazine - Paste Magazine
Of the various new female pop singers that have come along recently (such as Hope Partlow, Tristan Prettyman, Vaughn Penn, Brie Larson, KT Tunstall, Tegan and Sara), Courtney Jaye has produced by far the most accomplished and beautiful album. The others all pale in comparison. Her music, voice, and lyrics are so transcendently superior as to defy the imagination. Compared to her, the others are engaged in mere child's play. Jaye's album is so stunningly brilliant that it moves the listener toward ecstasy. If you can afford only one CD, hers would be the one to choose, and let the others remain to gather dust. In every way, and on every song, her voice is plangent, ringing out like a clear bell tolling through fog, bringing us to a place of resplendent beauty. - Nachem
12.05.05
Courtney Jaye: Traveling Light
Purchase this CD
It's hard to describe Courtney Jaye's genre. She's a female singer-songwriter with a modernized soft-rock vibe, but it's hard to draw a comparison. Is she one part Sheryl Crow, another the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and another Mindy Smith? One can't tell, but it's evident that she's got a refined sound, powerful lyrics and a feminine voice to match. Important to note is the array of big names that worked with her to produce and write songs. Nina Gordon (Veruca Salt) for one; I'm a huge Gordon fan and could see some resemblances to Gordon's style here. Some songs are softer ("Mental") while others like "Can't Behave" feature a fun up-tempo. "Traveling Light" has a Norah Jones feel to it, while Jaye's voice stays soft and lush as she sings, "All my life I'm traveling light/Been living in a sky/I'll float I'll fade I'll carry away/Till you pull me down and think of me sometimes." It's also clear that Jaye's songs have layered meanings and go beyond pop rhymes. Put this CD in your car stereo for optimal listening--it's best to drive fast and tap your toe on the gas pedal with tunes like this.
Favorite Tracks: Love Me, Mental
Rating: 5/5 stars - Discovering Artists
Discography
Traveling Light - 2005 Island Def Jam -Single was "Can't Behave"
Queen of Sabotage - 2008 Universal Republic - Single is "Sweet Ride" to be released to AAA radio Octobober 2008
Photos
Bio
Courtney Jaye is an artist on a lifelong musical and spiritual journey
finding a whole new part of her soul in Hawaii and some of Americas
most notorious music towns (Athens, L.A., Austin and Nashville) while
honing her writing chops with the likes of Matthew Sweet, Gary Louris
(The Jayhawks), Kristen Hall (Sugarland) and Thad Cockrell. Along the
way, she ended up impressing hard-to-impress musical heavyweight
L.A. Reid, (Island/Def Jam), who released Courtneys folk-pop debut
Traveling Light in 2005. She toured the country in a whirlwind, making
radio appearances and even landing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
After a short hiatus Courtney picked up a new project in the fall of 2007.
She began tracking in Black Mountain, N.C. Band of Horses bassist Bill
Reynolds offered his engineering/producing skills and--with the help of
engineer Danny Kadar (My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers). These
days, I feel like I belong as a singer, a writer, an artist and a performer.
So its a fresh, exciting period. For now, Courtney is self-releasing the
full length album Queen of Sabotage, and Universal Republic (Amy
Winehouse, Jack Johnson) will be releasing the first single/video for the
song Sweet Ride this fall. Courtneys music has appeared regularly in
films and on TV shows like ABCs Brothers & Sisters.
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