Jill Tracy
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Alternative, evocative/eclectic
Status:
Most recent release, "Lament for the Queen of Disks" (single, 2014); most recent full release, Silver Smoke, Star of Night (seasonal, 2012); most recent full release of non-seasonal material, The Bittersweet Constraint (2008)
See also:
Jill Tracy's site
Comparisons:
Marianne Faithfull, Rasputina, Dresden Dolls, Nick Cave
Covers/own material:
Own material
General comments:
Jill Tracy is the queen of the universe. The CDs arrived yesterday morning and I have listened to nothing else, literally...my GOD...I already have a new member of my pantheon, and she's about to kick a few folks out of the way and claim a seat near the top of the hierarchy.
Jill isn't that kind of cabaret you were thinking of...Jill isn't on the verge of bursting out in German...she's previous to all of that, she's writing from, like, 1894, rather than 1926...or whatever. Hmm...it's more just an influence of jazz that's upbeat enough to be swingy, which is something cabaret also has...but she's no Ute Lemper, to reference a recent thread. (John Drummond)Stunning cabaret, dark stuff on piano. Jill Tracy is a dark goddess writing absinthe-flavoured songs. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
I love Jill Tracy! I bought her CD because of the talk about her here and I fell in love with it...as did my husband. She's fabulous. (amy@ecalos.com)
Comments about live performance:
Jill Tracy was next, a San Francisco-based artist who had brought two members of her group, the Malcontent Orchestra. I found it odd that she played an electric piano when there was a Yamaha Grand sitting there right behind her, but whatever works, I guess. She was accompanied by two dapper men in suits, one on drums and another on upright bass. She's basically the cabaret singer who would greet you at the gates of Hell: there is definitely a gleefully evil twist to her lyrics, and I enjoyed her set quite a bit. (meth@smoe.org)
Recommended first album:
Diabolical Streak is just so evocative of mood, it's so perfectly produced, and the art direction and all of it. (John Drummond)
Recordings:
- Quintessentially Unreal (the early piano demos) (1995)
- Diabolical Streak (1999)
- Into the Land of Phantoms (The Nosferatu Score) (2002)
- The Bittersweet Constrain (2008)
- Beneath: The Bittersweet Constrain (instrumental mixes, 2011)
- Nervous96, the score (with Paul Mercer, short film soundtrack, 2011)
- Under the Fate of the Blue Moon (single, 2011)
- Silver Smoke, Star of Night (seasonal, 2012)
- Coronation of the Witch Queen (with Paul Mercer, 2-song EP, 2012)
- Lament for the Queen of Disks (single, 2014)
Quintessentially Unreal (the early piano demos)
Release info:
1995—Sleight of Hand—SH-0045Q
Availability:
cdbaby.com
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jill Tracy—solo piano and vocals
Guest artists:
None
Produced by:
Jill Tracy
Comments:
Her solo-piano-and-voice album Quintessentially Unreal is absolutely incredible...this woman plays so beautifully, it's so inspiring to see somebody kicking ass at the style I'm trying so hard to get right. (John Drummond)
Diabolical Streak
Release info:
1999—Sleight of Hand—SH-03732
Reissued 2004—125 Records—125-009
Availability:
Online at cdbaby.com, amazon.com and 125records.com
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
The Malcontent Orchestra:
Jill Tracy—grand piano, vocals
Alexander Kort—double bass, violoncello
Daniel Baer—violin
Eric Gebow—drums, percussion, timpani
Nadie Whitfield
Eenor—yaili tambour
Guest artists:
None
Produced by:
Jill Tracy with Christian Jones
Comments:
Jill had a major hand in the production, she and an engineer did all of the sound, and she did all of the art direction herself...it's neat, the first album is almost confessional in its lyrical tone, whereas the second one is much more playful and concerned with storytelling...but they're both so amazing...the way she downplayed her piano playing on the second album in comparison with the first is also shockingly good, in that the second album's work is still ridiculously evocative, but still very much on the DL in contrast to the absolutely mathematics-complex lines on the first one. (John Drummond)While there are a couple of songs on this I really like, it's all so similar it's overkill. I'm not a huge fan of caberet-style music, which is what this is. She's probably the most obvious heir of Brecht/Weill's wicked lyrical cabaret-style music. Which doesn't mean it just doesn't get a bit much after a while. I can't listen to it all the way through, but I like it a track or two at a time. (Neile)
Fans of Rasputina and Kristeen Young will like this album. It's theatrical, delightfully strange and lovely. She plays the piano and sings in a seductive whisper. At times the songs remind me of Kate Bush's 'Coffee Homeground' and 'Hammer Horror.' (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Jill Tracy I really like, perhaps not enough to place in the top 10 but she has a comfortable position just below. (afries@zip.com.au)
Into the Land of Phantoms (The Nosferatu Score)
Release info:
2002—Cabinet 45—C4502
Availability:
Online at cdbaby.com and amazon.com
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of eerie instrumental music
Group members:
The Malcontent Orchestra:
Jill Tracy—grand piano
Alexander Kort—double bass, violoncello
Daniel Baer—violin
Randy Odell—marimba, drums, percussion
Guest artists:
None
Produced by:
Alex Nahas
Comments:
Into the Land of Phantoms is Jill Tracy and the Malcontent Orchestra's original instrumental score for F.W. Murnau's 1922 vampire film Nosferatu. It was recorded live in San Francisco in 2001. (trow@interbridge.com)
The Bittersweet Constrain
Release info:
2008
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jill Tracy—piano, vocals
Guest artists:
Randy Odell—drums, percussion, metals
Alex Nahas—Chapman stick, electric bass
Daniel Fabricant—contrabass
Tony Cross—violin, viola, harmonium
Erica Mulkey (Unwoman)—cello
Nadine Whitfield—bassoon
Ralph Carney—bass flute, bass clarinet
Kenny Annis—sarod
Produced by:
Alex Nahas
Comments:
One of the best albums of the year. (christina_skov@hotmail.com, wpm@value.net, timjy@sbcglobal.net)
Silver Smoke, Star of Night
Release info:
2012—Projekt Records
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jill Tracy—piano, vocals
Guest artists:
Randy Odell—drums, percussion, metals, antique bells, chimes, toys
Paul Mercer—violin
Kenny Annis—contrabass
John Anaya—ebow
Produced by:
Jill Tracy with John Anaya
Comments:
Smoky, shadowy, shimmering—these are some of the words that come to mind to describe Jill Tracy's new seasonal offering. It's a more contemplative approach to Christmas, with older carols (both vocal and instrumental) and a focus on mystery and darkness (both literal and metaphorical). Exquisitely done. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Further info:
Jill Tracy appeared on the Artists For Literacy compilation CD, Songs Inspired By Literature, alongside Aimee Mann, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen. Her animated short film, The Fine Art of Poisoning, directed by Bill Domonkos, has won close to 30 national awards at film festivals.
Thanks to Sue Trowbridge and JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
