Veronica Swift

Description

Decorated jazz vocalist Veronica Swift comes to Rockport on the heels of her recent eponymously titled album, a masterful coming-out story. She earned international acclaim at the 2015 Thelonious Monk International Vocal Competition, and her previous albums, Confessions (2019) and This Bitter Earth (2021), sent her to the upper echelon of early 21st century jazz singers. Swift is one of the most versatile, dazzling singers to emerge in her generation.

Swift’s new project, which she describes as an exploration of “transgenre” expression, is a more artistically naked version of herself with mind paid to how conservative the mainstream jazz industry can be. This foray into new territory spans French and Italian opera, European classical music, bossa nova, blues, industrial rock, funk and vaudeville, all the while maintaining Swift’s signature virtuosic brilliance, interpretive ingenuity, bracing songwriting and keen arrangements. In addition to showcasing Swift’s originality, the album pays tribute to iconic pieces from across musical history, interpolating songs ranging from Duke Ellington and Bob Russell’s classic “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” to Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer,” Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”