about jacqueline gawler
'effortlessly fluid vocals...' The Age, Melbourne
'sultry...' Ausjazz Blog
Jacqueline is most known for her work as a longstanding singer/composer/percussionist with internationally award-winning vocal quintet Coco's Lunch. In recent years she has become one of Australia's most spontaneous and original singer/songwriters, drawing on her history as a contemporary jazz singer and integrating an improvisational approach with jazz harmony and pop/rock influences. Her vocal sound and musical interpretations are edgy, sensuous and compelling, and her quirky poetry underpinned by a sense of social inquiry and a love of travel, the natural world, and all that makes us human.
'Gawler shows she is not averse to taking risks as she shows the versatility of her strong, sultry and highly adaptable voice' Andrew Shaw, MCV 2010
In 2010 Jacqueline released her debut solo album AMBROSIA with the Jacqueline Gawler Band. Funded by an Arts Victoria grant, Ambrosia presents a feast of intelligent yet accessible songs in an indie jazz/rock vein, showcasing Gawler's composing talents and the skills of a formidable live band: Fran Swinn (guitars, loops), Christopher Hale (electric bass, percussion & other stringed instruments) & Ben Hendry (drums & percussion) with additional programming by Hadyn Buxton, as well as many of Melbourne's finest musicians as special guests. Ambrosia was engineered, mixed and mastered by Hadyn Buxton, and the project co-produced by Gawler & Buxton. Ambrosia was released to excellent reviews and a packed house at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne with Gawler's 9 piece band.
'…a quirky Gawler original she said had its genesis on a flight to Canada while testing how long she could continue writing under the influence of sleeping pills. Apparently the writing began to tilt up the page until the song emerged: When passengers write poetry and flight attendants sing…Gawler used her voice as more than merely a vehicle for words and was able to float her notes to form a rich texture over, within and around the bass and guitar. Under the influence of sleeping pills, she appeared to become sultry and possibly keen to wrap her arms around passing passengers or singing attendants in full flight.' Roger Mitchell, Ausjazz Blog.
Ambrosia will also be launched in Rio De Janeiro BRAZIL on 6th May 2011 with some of Rio's finest musicians.
Jacqueline is a first-class Honours graduate from the University of Melbourne, where she completed a double major in languages in 2000. She was awarded 2 Melbourne University Language Scholarships to study in both Japan and Italy, and in 2003 her Italian Honours thesis was published in the form of several articles (co-authored by Dr. Stephen Kolsky) for various Italian literary journals. Trained classically on piano and voice since an early age, Jacqueline commenced her singing career in 1994 with Jackie Gaudion's Angels of Soul, who recorded for Jim McLeod's Jazztrack on ABC Classic FM. In 1998 she studied at the Berklee Jazz Clinics in Italy and has since worked and recorded as a freelance singer with many ensembles in Australia and overseas, performing at festivals and venues throughout Australia, Asia & Brazil.
Since 1996 Jacqueline has been a full-time singer/composer/percussionist with award-winning Australian vocal quintet Coco's Lunch, who have toured throughout Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Laos, Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany & Austria. The group's 6 original albums have been nominated for CARA, ARIA, APRA and Australian World Music Awards. In 2003 Coco's Lunch won Best Folk/World Song and Runner Up Best Folk/Word Album at the USA Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards and in 2007 they received a double ARIA Nomination for Best World Music Album (Blueprint) and Best Children's Album (Rat Trap Snap!). Jacqueline's vocal composition On My Skin was performed by Stephen Leek's Australian Voices, and her song 'Palani Princess' featured on the Polyfollia 4th World Choral Showcase compilation album in 2010.
Jacqueline is also a West African percussionist and in 2007 traveled to Senegal in West Africa to study 'dunun' (bass drums) in the Malinke tradition with Master Drummer Aladgie Malo Sonko. She now performs traditional West African music in performances & workshops with Drummergirl and AFö, with whom she released the Arts Victoria funded EP Speak in 2008.
Jacqueline was a composer for the hugely successful Australian/Canadian children's television series Saddle Club and in 2005 was the recipient of the Montsalvat Trust Encouragement Award for Original Composition for her song On My Skin. She also recently recorded an album with Alies Christina Sluiter's Picture Box Orchestra, due for release in 2011. In 2009 Jacqueline traveled to Brazil to record a pop album with many of Rio de Janeiro's most acclaimed musicians including Armando Marçal, Sergio Brandão, Renato Fonseca & João Castilho (due for release in Australia, Asia & Brazil in 2011). She also recorded a duet in English & Portuguese with Brazilian pop star Jorge Vercilo, also to be released in Brazil in 2011. In 2010 Jacqueline returned to Brazil for a 6 month stint and to launch her debut album Ambrosia there in 2011.
Latest press release (downloadable pdf)
