Toronto-based vocalist and composer Alyssa Giammaria is set to release In Time, her first full-length album featuring all original music.
The recording is a mix of old and new: Half of the pieces were written in 2016, when Giammaria was first beginning to seriously explore her interest in writing music; the rest of the songs were written six years later, in the months leading up to the album’s recording session in the summer of 2022. The result is a blend of fresh, energetic songs alongside a selection of more patient, thoughtful compositions.
Recorded live off the floor at Toronto’s storied Canterbury Music Company last August, In Time features Giammaria’s quintet of pianist Steven Noronha, guitarist Josh Sparks, bassist PT Sandberg and drummer Aidan McConnell. It also features accompaniment from vocalists Aoife Louise-Doyle and Stephanie Sloss on three of the songs. The lineup is also a contrast of old and new: While Giammaria has been singing with Louise-Doyle and Sloss for 10 years, her band is a more recent creation that was assembled while they were studying together at the University of Toronto.
Originally from Hamilton, Ont., Giammaria was born into a musical family and began performing in musicals when she was eight years old. She went on to study classical voice and piano before studying jazz at Mohawk College. Since then, Giammaria has studied at the New School in New York and is currently completing a master’s degree at the University of Toronto. She previously released a five-song EP called Moments in 2021.
Here’s the track listing for In Time:
- The Only Part
- Dream Life
- Conversations
- In Time
- What Are the Words
- Mend
- For Now
Alyssa Giammaria’s In Time is out Sept. 8, 2023.
