inga liljestrom

i must have been living under a rock
not to have been aware of the existence of this lady
she has a sunday residency at the vanguard
don't get there too often for some unexplained reason
but i always keep an eye on who is performing
and the website promo on this one caught my eye
with her sultry vocal delivery set against a cinematic musical backdrop
inga jiljestrom effortlessly takes jazz syncopations
and marries them with the racier elements of pure electro
the 2 operative words being jazz and electro
i had a feeling we were in for a treat
seeing the band going about the business
of preparing for their performance
the lady in red satin, beautifully highlighting her long black hair
the lead guitarist in jeans, black t-shirt and pointy cap
gisbon les paul hanging from his neck
looking ready for action as though in an ac/dc tribute band
similarly attired were the double bass player and drummer
rounding out the band was a lady introduced as sophie on cello
first number totally mesmerising
your love is a bullet
slow, slow number with inga's voice dominant
forget the jazz and electro labels
no brass, keyboards or samplers in sight
every other song an original and unlike any other in the set
subtle use of a smoke machine and projected visuals
made the visual presentation an equal to the audio
the sound mix was also superb
and unusually got a special thanks from the stage
this is unclassifiable music - so let's call it modern
i don't think i saw the guitar being strummed all night
instead a flow of sounds and noises pulled from the instrument
and added to the mix of bowed double bass and cello
and of wide ranging percussion and singing
she is a multi-talented lady with a stunning voice
she plays at least ukelele and alto harp
both her accompaniment of choice in the quieter song or 2
she made great use of a microphone disguised as a telephone hand piece
which warped her vocals into a lower tone megaphone kind of sound
presumably she also writes the songs as well
a quick check of her website says there are 4 albums out already
i'm feeling decidely ignorant about this talented lady
so repeat visits to the vanguard on sunday night
over the next few weeks may get me over that
amazing