Jill Barber

If you believe they don't write songs like they used to, here is new hope for old romantics. On her new album Chances, Canadian chanteuse Jill Barber picks up the torch where the golden age of music left off. Stepping away from her folkier past, Jill delivers an album of ten original, fully orchestrated songs that strongly evoke - and could themselves become - classics. From the moment you hear her sultry voice on the opening title track, you are transported to another time and place. "The best songs ever written are the ones that somehow transcend time and fashion, "says Jill. "They may be old, but they haven't aged, it is that timeless quality that I aspire to in my own songwriting". A seasoned performer with a growing fan base across North America and the UK, Jill gained acclaim as a 2008 double-Juno nominee and multiple East Coast Music Award winner for previous releases For All Time (2006) and Oh Heart (2004). In February 2008, Jill was given the extraordinary chance to perform in concert with Symphony Nova Scotia as part of its Pops Series. The results evoked the rich sounds of Patsy Cline, Edith Piaf and Etta James. It was clear that Jill, previously a self-proclaimed "smoky folkie", had reached a new level. Also a first, Jill co-wrote a number of songs with producer Les Cooper and renowned singer-songwriter, Ron Sexsmith, who has also collaborated with Elvis Costello and Coldplay. "At first I was a little intimidated to work with Ron, but when we sat down to work, we had such a good time that I forgot what it was I was nervous about. We wrote five or six songs together in short order. Three of them appear on this album." ("Chances," "Old Flame," and "One More Time".) Jill was an audience favourite at the 2008 Regina Folk Festival. Chances is available in stores October 14th through the Outside Music Label. www.jillbarber.com