New York jazz violinist Scheinman gets vocal

By Michael D. Ayers

NEW YORK (Billboard) - For nearly a decade, Jenny Scheinman has been a fixture in the downtown New York jazz scene, adding her violin and string arrangements to numerous live gigs and records. But she's more than that.

If you picked up Lucinda Williams' 2007 release "West," you've heard Scheinman. Same goes for Norah Jones' 2002 mega-album "Come Away With Me" and Bill Frisell's "The Intercontinentals." Yet her success has been mainly in the composer/contributor realm, which, as composer/contributors can testify, isn't always what the public notices.

That could change in the weeks ahead, with a couple of new releases.

"Crossing the Field," her follow-up to 2005's "12 Songs" (Cryptogramophone), is a collection of newly composed instrumentals that Scheinman wrote mostly in a two-day spurt while vacationing in Hawaii. "Field" highlights the interplay between Scheinman and her cast -- 30 players contributed at various points -- exemplifying her range as a violinist. She's playful with Jason Moran on the swingy "Hard Sole Shoe" but remains delicate, almost fragile, on the sweeping, melodic "Ana Eco."

But Scheinman has a secret weapon: a killer voice. "Jenny Scheinman," her vocal debut, will be released in conjunction with "Crossing the Field." Rather than jazzy, the music is pure Americana, recalling her rustic upbringing in a remote part of Northern California.

"Partly, it was done just for fun. As a dare," Scheinman says lightheartedly. "I don't think I'll be able to get my violin playing to have that connection with an audience. The reaction you get when you sing words to people -- the risk you take and the payoff you get emotionally -- is a very different experience."

Koch, which signed Scheinman last year, will release both albums May 27, although "Crossing the Field" will be digital-only at first. It will then get a limited vinyl release in the summer, with a physical CD due in October.

Scheinman will celebrate the releases with a June 11 show at New York's Joe's Pub, backed by an all-star band featuring guitarist Tony Scherr and drummer Anton Fier. She also performs on camera in the upcoming David Arquette-directed film "The Butler's in Love," a release date for which has yet to be announced.

Reuters/Billboard