INGRID JAMES, an award-winning Queensland jazz singer, is releasing her 5th CD “TRAJECTOIRE” through Newmarket Music. This is a collaboration of originals with French jazz pianist/composer ALEXIS TCHOLAKIAN. Ingrid and Alexis appeared at Jazz venues in Paris before deciding to collaborate on “Trajectoire”. All the songs are originals with compositions by Alexis, and lyrics by Ingrid, with the exception of the opening track “A Timeless Place (The Peacocks)”.

“I’ve waited a long time to be involved in an originals project like this, so it is dear to my heart. When I heard Alexis’ melodies, I knew I had to write lyrics and sing his melodies”. (Ingrid James).

 
“This album is the result of an encounter – a beautiful one, both human and musical, which has spawned a harmonious collaboration with the Australian singer and author: Ingrid James. I am very happy and grateful that Ingrid was able to capture, as no-one has so far, the essence of my thinking, by writing and phrasing it so admirably, as well as singing it so perfectly”. (Alexis Tcholakian)

“Trajectoire” was recorded in France and Australia by the following artists: Ingrid James (Australia - voice/lyrics); Alexis Tcholakian (France - piano/compositions); Simon Teboul (France - bass); Thierry Tardieu (France – drums); Simon Spang-Hanssen (Denmark – sax); Mariane Bitran (France/Denmark – flute); Guillaume Muschalle (France – guitar); Miroslav Bukovsky (Australia – flugel); Todd Harrison (US – drums).

“Ably supported by an international ensemble, who all weave their own threads into the unfolding stories, Alexis and Ingrid guide us through a rich and compelling collection of vignettes. Beginning with “A Timeless Place (the great Norma Winstone lyric to “The Peacocks” by Jimmy Rowles), we are steered through an extraordinary range of emotions – songs of love, loss and longing, with brief detours into the hip American jazz-life – finally to be brought back safely at the close with a beautiful original ballad “It’s Not Over”. Well I can only hope that ‘it’s NOT over’ – and that this is just the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration. Sit back – and enjoy the sound of “TRAJECTOIRE”. (Pete Churchill, Professor of Jazz Composition, Royal Academy of Music, London; composer/educator/choral director/conductor for Kenny Wheeler Big Band and Abdullah Ibrahim’s Vocal Project).

 
From “playful” and “memorable waltzes”, “warm ballads” to “funky” and “early Brazilian fusion a la Flora Purim and Chick Corea”, “the international cast performs music that, while tied to jazz’s roots, is modern and contemporary. [Ingrid’s] stories cover such topics as different ways of looking at love, friendships, relationships, loss, learning from mistakes, and life in general. One of the top jazz singers from Australia, Ingrid James has a beautiful voice, a wide range, and the ability to sing difficult intervals with ease, hitting every note perfectly in-tune. She is also an original improviser, always swings, and is skilled at embracing lyrics that she believes in.” (Scott Yanow, Author of The Jazz Singers, The Great Jazz Guitarists, Jazz on Film and Jazz on Record 1917-76).