Veronica Swift This Bitter Earth 2LP

JazzTimes' The Top 40 Jazz Albums of 2021 - Rated 14/40!

Whereas Veronica Swift's 2019 Mack Avenue Records debut, Confessions, contained songs that played out like pages from her personal diary, on the captivating follow-up, This Bitter Earth, she flips by crafting an ingenious song cycle that tackles sexism ("How Lovely To Be A Woman"), domestic abuse ("He Hit Me"), environmental issues, racism, xenophobia ("You Have To Be Carefully Taught"), and the dangers of fake news ("The Sports Page"). The singer-songwriter gathered material that covers multiple genres, including jazz, American musicals, and contemporary indie-rock fortifying her position as a leading force in genre-bending song presentation.

"I want this album have two separate approaches," states Swift. "I wanted to start with women's place in society now and how it's changing. During the second half, I wanted to address other ailments in the world, whether it's racism or fake news. But I don't take any political stances. I'm very clear with my audience that as an artist I just want to address certain issues as an outsider looking in."

At just 25 years old, Veronica Swift has built a résumé that even many late-career jazz singers would envy: tours as a featured vocalist with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Chris Botti; a guest collaboration with Michael Feinstein; engagements at A-list clubs like Birdland, Jazz Standard, Dizzy's Club and Jazz Showcase; gigs at top festivals including Monterey, Montreal and Telluride, where she's headlined. She began performing with her musician parents, the late pianist Hod O'Brien and the singer/educator/author Stephanie Nakasian, as a child, and in 2015 she earned second place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, the most prestigious contest in the art form. In other words, her command of the vocal-jazz tradition is astounding.

Overnight Veteran

Fluid and charismatic vocalist

Swift is forthright and fearless on this absolute stunner. Pulling from disparate sources, she addresses scourges like sexism, bigotry, domestic abuse, and fake news with serious smarts. Delivering the music of Broadway, the Brill Building, Disney, and the Dresden Dolls (among others) with a maturity and depth of understanding that belies her years, she both typifies and transcends the jazz label with this project.