Bess Jacques & The Strays celebrate the release of their debut album, Anthems for Lily Briscoe.

While it’s accurate to label the band’s genre simply “jazz”, the songs on the new album revel in contrasting moods, drawing on pop and singer-songwriter styles in addition to traditional and modern jazz feels, including pulsing instrumentals, haunting ballads, and pop-styled vocal songs with backing harmonies. All songs on the album are originals, including eight written by band leader Bess Jacques (piano & vocals), and one each by the three other band members, Duane Edwards (bass), Tracy McMullen (saxophone), and Jan van Voorst van Beest (drums). The album was recorded at Acadia Recording Company (just down Hanover Street from Batson River) and mastered by Pat Keane Mastering, all in Portland, Maine. The result is a groovy, dreamy, epic, Maine-made, eleven-song journey.

The Lily Briscoe of the album’s title refers to a character in Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse. “That novel just knocks me out,” says Jacques, “and in the middle of it all is this quiet, awkward woman, an artist, a painter. Lily Briscoe ultimately defies society’s expectation that she exist merely to be a creature of service, and she achieves her vision as a painter. She’s actually quite radical and inspiring. She deserves many anthems.”

Join the Strays for this special show at Cadenza, where you can also purchase their new album in CD or digital download form. More information at: www.bessjacques.com