Nerissa Campbell

Nerissa Campbell was born in Australia and grew up in towns along the coast of Western Australia and on the island of Bali. Her family settled in the capital city of Perth where Nerissa attended the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts, earning a degree in Jazz. In 2001, following a trip to California where she was invited to perform at the Stanford Jazz Festival, Nerissa moved to New York City. She began writing Paint Me Orange while living in Brooklyn.

The album was recorded and released in the fall of 2003. Hailed as ?innovative?, ?risk-taking?, and ?incredible? by RadioJazz and JazzNow, Paint Me Orange went on to sell out of its original pressing. Nerissa's second album, Musings of a Telescopic Tree was described by Time Out London as full of ?smoky-voiced songs of good bourbon and bad love affairs.? Marcin Kubicki of Audio Magazyn in Poalnd characterized the album as ?Moving. A personal,interesting and intimate album.?

Since living in New York, Nerissa has performed in venues ranging from underground clubs to concert halls and has been invited to music festivals in Australia, the US, Singapore, the Netherlands, and South America. In addition to performing her own material, Nerissa has collaborated with the post-metal band A Storm of Light, the Balinese gamelan group Dharma Swara, and has been a part of performative literary readings, modern dance pieces, off-Broadway plays, and a 32-piece orchestra.

~~ The Heartfelt Howl, The Whisper of Love ~~

NERISSA CAMPBELL's music - its roots in jazz, weaves its way through somber pop-ballads, bluesy folk songs, moody instrumentals and a lyricism full of thought and space. There's an easy, swingin' film noir feeling that evokes dark bars and mystery dames with her voice wistful and melancholy. The blues is there too, but it plays hide and seek with space and sound, creating a depth of feeling beyond the obvious. It is a fine blend of styles dipped in a smoky beer batter of late night living.

Ms. Campbell has developed a unique and deeply personal writing and performing voice. There is a sincere, raw and open emotional quality to her songs. Her voice shifts in mood and expressiveness, becoming rough and syrupy, plaintive, or smooth and sexy. She delivers a song with the laid-back assurance and attitude of a young Peggy Lee. And like Miss Lee she is one of those rarer jazz vocalists who writes and performs her owns songs.

Discography
Paint Me Orange (2003)
Musings of a Telescopic Tree (2009)

Links
http://www.crookedmouthmusic.com