Jill Barber’s ‘Chansons,’ is an album of her own interpretations of classic French songs from both France and Quebec. Jill meticulously curated the repertoire herself, selecting material from a long list of over thirty songs, drawn both from her own collection, and from recommendations from friends within the Francophone community.

‘I spent time with the songs. I strolled the streets with Aznavour, I sat in a side-walk cafe with Piaf, poured a stiff drink with Gainsbourg, and I became absolutely enamoured and inspired by French music in the process.’ With her producer and arranger Drew Jurecka, Jill whittled the list down to the twelve songs that make up the album. Each song is treated lovingly, and with due respect by Jill and Drew,who endeavored to keep the spirit of the original song in place.

The first single off Chansons is ‘Sous le ciel de Paris’ a song inspired by the 1951 French film ofthe samename and made famous by Piaf.’Forme, this song captures the spirit of French street music, the drama, the tenderness, the romanticism, the playfulness.

Artists

Jill Barber (vocals), Bryden Baird (trumpet, bugle), Drew Jurecka (saxophone, bass clarinet, clarinet, strings, mandolin, violin), Joe Phillips (electric bass), Nathan Hiltz (guitar), Richard Whiteman (piano), Adam Warner (percussion), William Carn (trombone), Jesse Barksdale (guitar), Rosendo Chendy Leon (percussion), Michael Davidson (vibraphone), Jay Danley (cuban tres), Robbie Grunwald (accordion)