Vancouver-based jazz singer Jaclyn Guillou gets Juno nod with This Bitter Earth

Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra

The character of the tortured artist isn’t merely a Hollywood trope. A tryst with crushing depression and turbulent times seems almost a rite of passage for any truly great musician. That’s what Vancouver-based jazz singer Jaclyn Guillou is working through on her latest album, This Bitter Earth — and she’s got the chops to prove she’s battled her own bad times.

The 10-track record, set to release on March 5, has been nominated for a 2016 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz album of the year.

“While making [this] album, I developed a friendship with love,” Guillou writes in a press release. The album, she purports, is a personal journey of discovering hope in the face of adversity.

“As I began to heal from a painful suffering that had been withholding me in many ways, I was beginning to see life for what it really is and that I could love myself truly and fully. The result of that was being able to open my heart fully and loving people for who they truly are, without judgement or assumptions. I realized that many people had been loving me this way for a long time and believing in me even when I didn’t always believe in myself.”

Guillou partnered with Shane Jeremy James, founder of Actions of Compassion, for the launch of the album. The vocalist urges her fans to make an impact in others’ lives through the compassion movement.

She’s also giving away 50 free tickets to her release show at The Rio Theatre, taking place this Saturday, March 5 at 9 pm. To earn them, all you have to do is one act of compassion and post it on a social media platform of your choice with the hashtag #JaclynGuillou.

Purchase tickets to Jaclyn Guillou’s album release show here

Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.