Catalpa

Description

Product Description Catalpa is the self-produced debut CD from Texas-bred, San Francisco-based singer-songwriter, Jolie Holland. Catalpa will appeal to fans of Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch, Cat Power, Will Oldham, Woody Guthrie and Rickie Lee Jones Review "flute-like, fluttering, multi-octave, voice, Jolie Holland sings spooky lullabies that hush and charm………She plays anything stringed...she¹s the real McCoy……" -- by Jillian Steinberger -- Punk Planet 7/03Holland's voice slides over her words like warm honey... -- by Dan Strochata -- SF Weekly 2/03Hollands voice bears the weight of a thousand stories. Its heartbreaking yet soothing, unusual yet familiar. -- West Coast Performer, June 6, 2003Hollands voice bears the weight of a thousand stories. heartbreaking...soothing, unusual yet familiar. Her songs hum with freshness... -- by Lisa Butterworth -- West Coast Performer 6/03She does for folk, fiddle and country what Billie Holliday did for the blues... -- by Sheerly Avni -- Salon.com 7/03 From the Artist Jolie Holland's is a voice that attempts to transcend the new and encompass the old through the medium of American music. Like Ralph Stanley told her, "I don't even know what bluegrass music is--I consider myself a soul singer." So, yes, its the blues, and the tunes our grandparents hummed on unpaved highways, but its the same songs that coaxed tears out of the punk rock boy at the bar. The ladies swayed, the street kids hooted with bright eyes, the hip hop composer unselfconsciously slipped his hand over his heart, and your momma tapped her foot. New time old time: spooky American fairytales. About the Artist Possessing a remarkable voice and nuanced phrasing (reminiscent at times of Billie Holliday), Jolie Holland puts a new spin on rural Americana with jazz-informed textures and back-alley poetry. Originally intended as song demos for her band, Catalpa captures the artist completely un-self conscious, naked and pure. The album is so striking that despite its rough edges and very limited release (it's sold at shows, online and only 3 record stores) Catalpa has captured the hearts of critics as well as her fellow artists (former Rolling Stone senior writer and editor Michael Goldberg wrote: "The Elusive Jolie Holland releases what could be the album of the year." / Tom Waits nominated Catalpa for the Shortlist awards). With Creole roots in New Orleans, Jolie was born and raised in Texas. By the age of six she was writing songs on the toy piano. From the beginning, it seemed as if Jolie was eager to continue something she had started in some other time and place. In her early teenage years Jolie added fiddle and guitar to her set of tools. It soon became clear that the classroom was not the place to grow as an artist. After leaving home, Jolie fell into a set of artists that traveled like a circus without a tent or a destination. They bummed around between Austin and New Orleans, soaking up the flavors of the South. Then, Jolie headed out West and made her way up the coast to Vancouver. She co-founded a folk outfit called the Be Good Tanyas. After working on the groups' first album, Blue Horse, Jolie set off to lead her own project in San Francisco. Never intended for public ears, Catalpa was given to a few friends and eventually sold at shows. Taking on a life of its own, this courageous little disc made it around the world and back. Salon.com said this about the album: "She does for folk, fiddle and country what Billie Holliday did for the blues, wrapping her unforgettable voice around each note and taking it somewhere you wouldn't have ever thought of." Either in San Francisco or on the road, Jolie is playing live constantly. With support from great independent stations like KALX and WFMU, the word continued to spread. Catalpa being added to BBC Radio 3 and spinner.com helped to broaden that reach. When Catalpa was made available for sale via Jolie's website and CDBaby.com, orders came in from almost every state in the union, all over Canada, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and even Japan. Anti- re-issues Catalpa on November 11th. Jolie is currently in the studio with her core band, consisting of veteran jazz drummer Dave Mihaly; the Zen guitar of Brian Miller; and Jolie leading on guitar, fiddle and voice, recording her "proper" debut to be released in mid 2004.