Carey West

Carey West Travels Light Since completing her five-song debut, Carey West has been busy recording her first full-length album, Travel Light. A collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Jeff Wilson, the album reveals Carey's diverse musical influences, drawing on reggae, jazz, R&B, and folk to tell tales that hit close to the heart. The result is a sound that reflects Carey's roots in Toronto. Carey?s vocal stylings are influenced by her experience in a wide variety of genres. She delved into the world of jazz and blues as leader "Carey West and The Millionaires", who held weekly residencies at The Rex and The Cameron house for over two years and appeared as part of the Downtown Jazz Festival and the Toronto Blues Festival. As a member of The Liquidaires, a Caribbean influenced ensemble, Carey helped release two successful CD's followed several high profile performances including broadcast performances on CBC Radio One, and live appearances at Dundas Square and Nathan Phillips Square. Carey also contributed to the four-part harmonies of The Jeremiahs, an alt-country band focused on an old school sound. With two albums under their belt, The Jeremiahs have performed as part of Harbourfront's TO Twang Fest and held a 3-year residency at The Old York tavern in downtown Toronto. ?Travel Light? her latest effort, is a collection of originals that have a distinct character reflecting Carey's deep love of jazz and blues music as well her affection for folk music from around the world. Recorded entirely at home and co-produced with percussionist Jeff Wilson (Maza Meze, Sultans of String, Jaffa Road) and Joe Dunphy (By Devine Right, Andy Stochanski) ?Travel Light? employs imaginative instrumentation such as marimba, melodica, birimbao and bike horn, all grounded by the more traditional pop four piece to illustrate intimate lyrics. Carey West and Jeff Wilson blend the influence of a multicultural city with the tradition of the Canadian singer songwriter. Travel Light was awarded funding from the Ontario Arts Council and was released this spring. To date it has received airplay on CBC Radio One, CBC Radio Two and big bumps on thesixtyone.com.