Sonya Kitchell - Convict of Conviction

After two acclaimed albums and an international tour singing with jazz legend Herbie Hancock, 20-year-old performing songwriter Sonya Kitchell looked to the solace of the Massachusetts countryside to begin work on what has become Convict of Conviction, a new six-track EP due March 23 from 429 Records. "The songs came from a stillness," reflects Kitchell. "This is music I could not have written in New York City....the songs are a culmination of that silence and the time spent around numerous and masterful musicians." Since her work with Hancock on his Grammy-winning Joni Mitchell tribute album River, Kitchell has taken her songs deeply into the more abstract, jazz-influenced chamber-pop songwriting not unlike Mitchell's own Hejira period.

Conviction reflects that maturity and artistic freedom, resonating with sensitive touch and reserved emotions, Kitchell's airy vocals a perfectly mixed concoction of drifting wisps of smoke and hint of a warm, sultry breeze. A breathy whisper suspended over mostly piano, double bass, brushed drumwork and backing strings is the template for songs such as "Lighthouse" and "Sinks Like A Stone" while the closing number "Gypsy Eyes" is the lone guitar-focused track, a lovely meditative melody setting a spare stage for Kitchell's bending, ascendant vocals. Convict of Conviction is an elegant, sophisticated album that's best experienced in the aesthetic of it's artful creation: the quiet of solitude. Highly recommended.

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Sonya Kitchell - "Gypsy Eyes" (from Convict of Conviction)

Sonya Kitchell - Sampler ("Convict of Conviction", "Lighthouse". "Gypsy Eyes" excerpts)