About
Jayne Russell's acoustic roots music comforts the soul like a warm fire on a winters' night. The contemporary folk arrangements of her songs are a perfect compliment to the authenticity of her songwriting, driven by her rich, pure voice.
Jayne is thrilled to be releasing her sophomore album, That'd Be Hank, a 10-song 'biography in song' focussing on the life of Hank Williams Sr. It began by watching the biopic, "I Saw the Light" and feeling that it just did not capture the totality of who Hank Williams was and why we should remember him. This fostered a period of reading and watching everything she could find in print or on the web about Hank.
Hank Williams Sr. is a songwriters' songwriter; Leonard Cohen said that he lives "a hundred floors above me in the tower of song". His rags to riches rise, spectacular career and shocking and iconic early death is a fantastic story that deserves to be told and understood by music fans outside the realm of Traditional Country.
Jayne is proud to offer her take on his life and legacy from his early days, depicted in "Morning in Montgomery" to his final hours re-lived in "The Last Lonesome Ride" to the aftermath in all its' poignancy in Audrey's angry lament of "Too Late to Cry" and the sinister incompetence of a bogus doctor in “Nothing I Could Do”, as sung by producer and featured vocalist, Joe Craven.
Quotes
"Jayne Russell sings with honesty in a pure, yearning voice that conveys a range of emotions from longing and sadness to feisty determination. Her songs come from her experiences and are written with an aim to create an understanding and compassion between herself and her listeners -- a clear and true voice singing about things that we always need reminding about: love, loss, time passing and finding your way once again."
Jeni Hankins, Singer-Songwriter, Jeni & Billy
"There are very few people I know who immerse, marinate, themselves in music as she does. And there is no missing the passion in the sounds and words that emerge from her hands and her voice."
Steve Baughman, Celtic Guitarist
"With a beautiful voice and the heart to match, Jayne’s sweet spirit is clearly heard in her songs."
Amanda Walther, Dala
"Her singing is beautiful, the songs are great and the recording is first-rate. What more could you want?"
Paul Mills, Producer
, The Mill Stream
"I have heard Jayne singing song after song out into the night air in the midst of a gathering, and it was as timeless as anything. This is what music is for."
Peter Mulvey, Singer-Songwriter
"Jayne Mitchell's solo alto voice sparkles all on its own when she's digging in to the country-flavoured ballads she loves to write and to borrow ... and hey, watch out for that same lovely alto in the midst of several exciting duos and trios ... it's no wonder they love this Canadian girl in the Swannanoa Valley!"
Joanne Crabtree, Singer-Songwriter