All This Talk About Wide Ear Records***

Dublin-born, London-based Lauren Kinsella is part of a new generation of academically trained singers who've tired of the traditional role of the voice in jazz and are exploring the outer limits of their instrument in the way that instrumental musicians have been doing since the 1960s. Grunts, shrieks, hoots and even intakes of breath are all grist for the mill. To them Kinsella adds literary fragments and found phrases, which form the basis for these improvisational essays. Swiss drummer Alex Huber contributes the other side of the conversation, making for a rather austere palette that doesn't provide much in the way of a safety net for Kinsella's high-wire act. The skill of the musicians is evident and their daring commendable, but it is equally clear that the desire to reach a wide audience was not a motivating factor. myspace.com/laurenkinsellavoice