Sing You To Sleep
7.17.24
“Sing You To Sleep” is the first single from the forthcoming album of original music from songwriter Kathleen Grace. The project is sensual and honest in its description of desire, self-love and human connection.
The songs come from a period of frenetic and constant writing from Grace over two years. Based in Los Angeles, Grace has been a pivotal member of a community of artists (many featured on the new project) that have taken the freedom and fluidity of jazz expression and applied them to the folk, ambient and alternative music realms. Collaborating with producer and renowned pedal steel player Rich Hinman, Grace explores both musical and emotional trust of self in her songs and with her band mates who include bassist Anna Butters, saxophonist Josh Johnson, drummer Abe Rounds, keyboardist Tyler Chester and guitarist Tim Young.
The project further represents the re-emergence of Grace back into the music scene that shaped her. After surviving a traumatic brain injury in 2020 at the peak of the COVID pandemic, the music reveals a woman adapting to a life transformed by disability and finding profound strength in her own choice to serve her spirit and her body.
Grace's previous album Tie Me To You is a shared musical work created with renowned pianist/composer Larry Goldings. Her vocals are also featured throughout Jim James' solo album Uniform Distortion, and she has performed with Portugal the Man at both the American Music Awards and Coachella Music Festival.
About Kathleen
Kathleen Grace grew up in the West, its vistas etching an impression that would stay with the Tucson native as she traveled to the dry hills of Los Angeles. Forging a career that has sent her around the globe, Grace has played for a worldwide audience whose diversity reflects her own eclectic musical tastes. Emerging from her jazz roots, Grace’s sound bridges traditional and nostalgic with an approachable modernity, taking her into the blues, folk and pop-leaning realms.
“Jazz is a value system,” Grace explains, “I may not always be creating music specific to that space, but I try to let its deepest truths of freedom, listening and trust guide my path, my choices.”
Over time, Grace’s organic evolution has led her to an expansive career, not only as an interpreter of song, but also a respected songwriter in the modern folk and Americana worlds. Her prior album, No Place To Fall, was a sun-drenched landscape of music rooted in her desert upbringing and elegant country spirit, and an undeniable evolution of Grace as a naturally exquisite singer and songwriter, whose soulful instincts are skillfully honed by her prior experience in jazz and blues. Her album “Tie Me To You” with pianist Larry Goldings was a one-take, intimate portrait of love and letting go. Pop Matters declared it “a wonderfully restrained moment.” Grace has also performed at the top jazz clubs across the country demonstrating her expansive vision for sound and collaboration.
Kathleen Grace has performed at festivals in Europe, the U.S., and South America. She was a finalist in the Montreux International Jazz Vocal Competition and was awarded a spot in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She is currently on the faculty at the Flora L. Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California.