Recent Review by Jessica Nicholas (The Age)

In January this year, Alison Wedding visited New York and immediately felt drawn to the city's energy and creativity. It was an experience that precipitated the singer's decision to move back to the US (where she was born), after six and a half years in Australia.

On Sunday night, Wedding big farewell not only to Bennetts Lane- the club she regards as her Melbourne 'home'- but to the musicians, friends and fans who have welcomed her into the local jazz community.

Sunday's conert was ostensibly a quartet gig, but Wedding invited various guest performers to join her band (Stephen Magnusson on guitar, Ben Robertson on bass, and Dave Beck on drums) throughout the evening. Pianist Sam Keevers deepened the bluesy groove of "My Poor Hands", and singer Gian Slater performed a hauntingly beautiful vocal duet with Wedding on "Hungry Lonely" (with subtle but luminous accompaniment from another guest pianist, Will Poskitt).

Wedding also engaged in intimate duo conversations with each of her regular bandmembers. These were among the evening's highlights, as she scatted in empathetic harmony with Robertson (on "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo); explored the percussive possibilities of her voice with Beck ("Agua de Beber"); and revelled in the spirited strumming of Magnusson's nylon-string guitar ("If").

On the quartet numbers, Wedding's gifts as a composer and arranger were strongly evident. The mainly original repertoire encompassed achingly tender ballads ("You and I") and taut, finger-snapping statements of defiance ("Don't Come Crying to Me"), along with upbeat Brazilian-inspired tunes that bubbled with pure pleasure.

This was the first time I had heard Wedding in more than a year, and I was struck by the maturity and depth of her delivery. She has always had a beautiful voice- full of sincerity , and without a hint of affectation- but there is a new earthiness to her approach that broadens her expressive capabilities and grounds her even as her voice soars high above the clouds.

She closed Sunday's concert with an exquisite new song, "She", performed solo at the piano. The lyrics were set in third person, but with obvious personal resonances as the fictional 'she' emerged from a period of struggle feeling ready to move forward. It was clearly an emotional moment for the singer- and the audience- as she said goodbye, reflecting on her time in Australia and the adventures that lie ahead as she steps into the unknown. - Jessica Nicholas (The Age)

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More Reviews

"Alison Wedding is the most impressive jazz singer to emerge on the Melbourne scene in quite a few years...Wedding certainly has an appealing voice, a strong technique and reliable intonation. But the qualities that make her stand out from the crowd are her ablility to explore and convey the emotion in a song's lyrics, and her ability to scat solos with both daring and control."
-Adrian Jackson, Rhythms magazine

"Her alto voice is full of expression and she has a gift for improvisation and a sharp ear, avoiding cliches in her wordless vocalising by thinking like a horn player instead of trying to imitate one". -
Kevin Jones , The Weekend Australian

" Wedding can scat with the best, but it is the luminous beauty she discovers in the lyrics of songs....that lingers in the memory".
-Adrian Jackson, The Bulletin

"That she is much more than just an Ella/Billie/Sarah clone is evident from the crystalline opening notes....Wedding's voice is a vivacious and accurate instrument, which can be used to improvise with elan, or weight words to meaningful effect."
-John Shand, Limelight magazine

"Possessed of an exquisite voice which is at once both sweet and strong... I can only feel envious of Melbourne audiences who are treated to regular doses of this wonderful group...I unconditionally recommend them..."
-Melissa Forbes, Brisbanejazz.com

"Nearly an hour of pure-voiced and -backed pleasure offered here."
Michael Foster, Canberra Times review
of "The Secret" CD

"She has been making quite an impact in melbourne since her arrival in Australia...I caught her performing down at Wangaratta in October, where she won over audiences with her graceful stage presence and moving voice. Alison delivers her music with a refreshing honesty and energy. Her ballads are beautiful- she has that pure, deep ,at times fragile tone that really stirs you."
Jasmine Crittenden, The Drum Media Street Mag

"she has all the attributes of a world class jazz diva- perfect pitch and phrasing and a fine sense of rhythm. She also has the ability to solo over the 'changes' of a tune with the alacrity and expertise customarily associated with top instrumentalists. It's obvious she has closely studied horn players and absorbed the tone of their playing and the construction of thier solos."
Tony Hiller review, Cairnes

"Given half a chance, Alison Wedding will lull you with her sweet sounding voice, thrill you once she starts to improvise and most certainly win you over with her ability to write songs of substance."
-Deb Morrice, Rave (Brisbane)

"My expectation of a performer who could improvise with her voice through a large vocal range was not disappointed. Alison's control and understanding of what she could achieve with her voice, coupled with her technical skill with the microphone, resulted in a very polished performance."
Phllip Crombie review,
Shearwater,Tasmania