Alyse Black is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. Black's music is described as

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

influences, in the vein of artists such as

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

and

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

. Her song "Stood for Stand for", which was featured on Black's debut album ''Too Much & Too Lovely'', won

Billboard's ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

2007 World Song Contest in the Jazz category.

Background and career

Black was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, the youngest of three daughters. According to her website, she initially had an interest in pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, but instead studied business, communications, and international studies at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, where she graduated in 2004. After working in the corporate world, she returned to her original interest, joining a local jazz band, No Jive Five. Alyse and pianist/band leader, Mike Withey, formed a separate band, Thursty Love, to embrace more Latin/samba influences and romantic themes. Thursty Love recorded an EP in 2008 with classics like "La Vie en Rose," "In the Wee Small Hours," and "Corcovado," as well as an original song Black and Withey had composed together. Alyse released her debut solo album ''Too Much & Too Lovely'' at the end of 2007. Songs from this record garnered Black "Billboard's Annual World Song Contest" in Jazz as well as a few other awards. To tour the record, Alyse joined Austin local band Society Eclaire for a 22 date and festival tour of the country in the old short bus, lovingly dubbed, "Moby." With a few songwriting awards and tours under her belt, Alyse went back into the studio in early 2009 to record her second full-length record with producer

Ryan Hadlock Ryan Hadlock is an American record producer, best known for his production work on platinum-selling album ''The Lumineers'' by The Lumineers. Career Hadlock has been around music his entire life, as his parents Joe and Manny Hadlock, started B ...

(

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ven ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio More ...

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

) in Woodinville, Washington. Alyse immediately hit the road to tour the record for the rest of 2009 and first half of 2010. Her song ''Super Hero'' was featured on the 2012 film

Let's Make a Movie ''Let's Make a Movie'', also titled ''Director's Cut'' is a 2010 American independent comedy-drama film and the directorial debut of Elana A. Mugdan. The film won Best Comedy at the NYC Downtown Feature Film Festival in 2011, the Indie Spirit Aw ...

. In 2010, shortly after having her first daughter, Scarlett, Alyse recorded The Honesty EP with producer/engineer Zach Alkire in Houston, Texas. It released in 2011. In 2012, Black began working on a new project inspired by motherhood, a collection of original and classic lullabies with the band 'Night Sweet Pea, recorded by engineer/producer, Carla Patullo, in Austin, Texas. To finance the album's production, the band launched a successful campaign on

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

. The album, ''A Little Line of Kisses'', was released to critical acclaim in December 2012. Shortly thereafter, Black's second child, Elliot, was born. In 2014, she recorded three love song covers with producer

Mark Hallman Mark Hallman (born August 1, 1951) is an American producer, songwriter, engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked with Carole King (appearing on six of her albums as a performer and producer), Ani DiFranco, and Eliza Gilkyson. In the m ...

(

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

Eliza Gilkyson Eliza Gilkyson (born August 24, 1950, Hollywood, California) is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician.Gilkyson moved her base from Austin, Texas, to Taos in 2020. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and his wife, J ...

Ani Difranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

), which was recorded at Congress House Studio in Austin, Texas, and then released in early 2015. The album was titled ''You Belong To Me'' after the old pop ballad on the record. The record also contains a cover of

's "The Story" and

Beth Nielsen Chapman Beth Nielsen Chapman (born September 14, 1958) is an American singer and songwriter who has written hits for Country music, country and pop music performers. She was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016. Nielsen Chapman ...

's "Seven Shades of Blue." In early 2015, Alyse began recording her third full-length studio record with producer,

Eric Rosse Eric Ivan Rosse is an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and mixer. Rosse started playing piano at age 8, eventually studying orchestration and arranging with Joe Rotundi Sr., whose mentorship—along with influences of soul, rock ...

(

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

Birdy (singer) Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den BogaerdeDebrett's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, Kelly's Directories, 2000 pg. 1629 (born 15 May 1996), better known by her stage name Birdy, is an English singer and songwriter. She won the music c ...

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

A Fine Frenzy Alison Sudol (born December 23, 1984) is an American actress, singer, songwriter and music video director. She is known as the singer A Fine Frenzy, and for her role as Queenie Goldstein in ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'' (2016), as ...

Landon Pigg Landon Pigg (born August 6, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Early life, education and childhood career Pigg was born in Nashville, Tennessee. When he was a child, his family moved to Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago ...

Anna Nalick Anna Christine Nalick ( ; born March 30, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' Wreck of the Day'', featuring her first radio hit, "Breathe (2 AM)", was released on April 19, 2005. Nalick left her label under Sony in 2009 ...

Mary Lambert (singer) Mary Danielle Lambert (born May 3, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter and spoken word artist. She worked with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on a track on their album '' The Heist''. Lambert is the featured artist of their LGBTQ rights single, "S ...

), in Hollywood. That album was fan-funded on

as well, raising $31,276. The self-titled record was released on January 24, 2017. The record has done well with film and TV placement. During this time, Alyse also garnered an endorsement with Fishman Amps. Alyse is also a licensed real estate agent with Keller-Williams Realty. She did promise, however, to continue making the world better with her music while raising her three children.

Influences

Black's influences include

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first albu ...

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

, Portishead,

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

, Jude,

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. Mazzy Star ...

Cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry m ...

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Awards

*1st Place,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

Annual World Song Contest, 2007 *1st Place,

, and Finalist,

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

, Independent

Singer-Songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

Awards, 2008

Discography

Studio albums

*2007 '' Too Much & Too Lovely'' *2009 '' Hold Onto This'' *2011 '' The Honesty EP'' *2012 '' A Little Line of Kisses'' (with band: 'Night, Sweet Pea) *2015 '' You Belong To Me (EP)'' *2017 ''Alyse Black''

Live albums

*2011 ''

The Triple Door Sessions LIVE ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

References

External links

Official websiteAlyse Black on iTunesAlyse Black on AmazonAlyse Black on TheSixtyOneAlyse Black on the ATX Architects Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Alyse American women singer-songwriters Living people University of Washington alumni Singers from Seattle Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers