Americana Alt.Country CD Reviews

Suzanne Jarvie
'Spiral Road'
(Self-Released, 2014)
www.suzannejarvie.com

Suzanne's BIO:

It seems inconceivable that such a powerful singer-songwriter as Suzanne Jarvie has remained unknown in the music world until this moment in time. Born in the 60’s in Hong Kong and raised in Toronto, Canada, Suzanne’s musical ability was first noticed by her mother when she was singing complete nursery rhymes at 18 months old in perfect pitch.

One possible reason Jarvie kept her musical voice silent for so long was being stricken with terrible stage fright as a young child when she was asked to sing “Silent Night” at a Christmas concert. In high school, at age 16, she fell hard for a cool boy in her class who idolized Keith Richards. She decided to take guitar lessons as a way to impress him. The love was unrequited and the plan failed but… Suzanne kept playing and singing, and eventually in her 20’s was exposed to and drew inspiration from the likes of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.

Partly because Suzanne craved stability in the wake of her parents’ painful divorce, at age 14, and partly because of her ongoing stage fright and creative reticence, she put music on the back burner, went to university, became a criminal defense attorney, wife and mother of four children. The first real blow of Suzanne’s adult life came ‎when her youngest son was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, he endured two open heart surgeries at age 7 and 11. Then, in 2011, on an ordinary day, her oldest son had a tragic accident at the age of 14, falling down a spiral staircase, and went into a coma. “It blew everything apart, including me,” Suzanne recalls. “Everyone was demented with grief. Despite the doctors saying he wouldn’t survive, the miracle of his slow recovery and healing occurred and changed the course of my life… One afternoon I heard a melody in my head... almost like I was hearing a tune played from somewhere else and I just started writing. I picked up my guitar and played an opening line, and words just started appearing, through the subconscious, through emotions and through a melodic filter. The song "Before And After" became the first and reprised track on the album. When I finished writing it, after about twenty minutes, I had the strangest feeling. Perhaps my first experience of inspiration. A door was definitely opened, and staying open, almost as though the first song had blown it down. Then, over the next few months… I had a feverish fit of writing and all these songs came gushing out.”

As Suzanne and her family continue to recover from these health challenges, she found the courage to record her stunning debut album about this raw, deeply personal and painful journey, 'Spiral Road', produced by the Canadian multi-instrumentalist and music producer, Hugh Christopher Brown (Bourbon Tabernacle Choir). He says: "Gregor Beresford had told me about his friend Suzanne who was a lawyer, a mother of four, and secretly, one of the best singer-songwriters he ever heard. When I then came to hear Suzanne with my own ears, I was rapt from her first line. Her voice and writing weave to hold you in her presence. She is blessed with a grace that eases acceptance of mystery."

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