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written by Anne Wisdom
"Katie Noonan encompasses so many parts of the musical spectrum - singing, composing, jazz, opera, classical, contemporary, popular - so exceptionally well that she almost defies description." 1
The skill and freedom in interpretation that characterizes the music of Australian singer, pianist, percussionist and composer Katie Noonan comes from a range of musical traditions. She is most well known for her work with award winning band 'george'. Katie and her brother Tyrone are the creators and lead singers of the group and their music has been described as a 'combination of raw, honest lyrics, teamed with haunting, classically inspired vocals'2
Katie Noonan's family environment was an important part of her musical development and contributed to her eclectic approach to her musical career. Her mother is an opera singer and she describes her father as 'from the jazzy crooner, swinging school".3 She listened to a lot of classical music while growing up and later studied opera and jazz at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. During this time her interest in Twentieth Century music led to her performing in works such as M is for Mozart, Music and Man by Louis Andriesson and Laaborintus 11 by Berio. She has collaborated with artists from Vince Jones, James Morrison and Dale Barlow through to Midnight Oil and pop vocalist Macy Gray. Music she describes as being significant in her life includes the album Grace' by Jeff Buckley, The Kóln Concert by Keith Jarrett, King of Blue by Miles Davis and anything by Johann Sebastian Bach.
She has sung pop, opera and jazz and also worked with Paul Grabowsky and his trio. "We've had this lovely musical connection."4 Grabowsky says of her "She's got an extraordinary instrument there and she uses it very, very well. She's able to do very many things. And she's a very fine musician..she's got depth. She's had very thorough training and she's a musical polymath - she's across a number of different styles of music."5
Katie Noonan finds the "spontaneous composition and improvisation"6 of jazz more challenging than opera, allowing her more freedom of expression. This is evident in her exploration of acoustic, jazz influenced folk music on the self-titled album Elixir. The group Elixir was formed 6 years ago at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and comprises Katie Noonan on vocals, Nick Stewart on guitar and Zac Hurren on tenor saxophone.
The lyrics for many of the songs on Elixir are by the Brisbane poet Martin Challis. "A friend of mine read me the words to Raspberry Tea over the phone, and I just loved the lyrics so much. I thought I would love to set this to music".7 The album also covers songs which have influenced members of the group, for example: Overlap by Ani Di Franco, River Man by Nick Drake, Blue by Vince Jones and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John.
"I've known that song since I was little. My mum used to play it to her music students when she was teaching and Ty and I used to play it on the piano. And I think Elton John and Bernie Taupin are an incredible songwriting team - they're at the pinnacle of pop music writing. And for Elixir, who are not so pop, who are very acoustic and jazzy, to do it was quite a challenge. We took that out of 4/4 time and put it into 5/4. If you don't put your own personality into someone else's song then what's the point of doing it? And with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, the original is just so great....If you're not going to put a fresh perspective on it then leave it alone!"8
Elixir's rendition of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (CD track 9 9) launches straight into the verse in the key of Ab, without the usual instrumental introduction. Katie Noonan is accompanied by the nylon string acoustic guitar playing an ascending melodic figure in 5/4 in the following rhythm:
The melodic pattern changes with each chord and often overlaps the vocal line. This creates the effect of a countermelody weaving around the vocal melody and immediately draws the attention of the listener.
The vocal quality is slightly husky and breathy at first. The phrasing is legato10 and sustained, often stretching across the bar line. For example in the following two lines Elton John takes a breath after 'farm' at the end of the line: (CD cue 0:09) 'I should have stayed on the farm___ I should have (breath) listened to my old man.' Katie Noonan sings through the phrase and breathes after the word 'have'. This places more emphasis on the phrase 'listened to my old man' enhancing the meaning of the text. She uses the same technique in the following two lines: (CD cue 0:23) 'I didn't sign up with you___I'm not a (breath) present for your (breath) friends to open'. The breathing here adds a sense of distress to the line, again giving the text more meaning.
The guitar pattern changes to spread chords in the bridge (CD cue 0:36), emphasizing the beat more strongly, and also plays some of the vocal figures. The vocal line is sung in head voice with a light operatic tone quality and without vibrato. The tenor saxophone provides a soft discreet harmony underneath the voice in this section.
The guitar strumming on each beat in the chorus provides rhythmic support (CD cue 0:50), as Katie's vocal technique allows her to move freely between octaves without any discernable break. For example: the leap between 'back' and 'toad' on the phrase 'horny back toad' (CD cue 1:15). There is a slight portamento11 on the words 'dogs' and 'howl' creating an effect of word painting (CD cue 0:55). A second acoustic guitar improvises around the rhythmic figure used at the beginning. The last word of the chorus - 'road' is treated in the same way as the bridge, with long sustained vocal notes without vibrato, supported by the low saxophone harmony and this time with the addition of vocal harmony above the voice.
The second verse develops the use of individual phrasing, melisma12, vibrato and weaving around the registers with vocal ease. The use of flattened notes in the melody reflects a jazz influence. For example, on the word 'lies' in the line 'I finally decided my future lies'. The guitar accompaniment continues the strong rhythmic chords from the chorus, and the second acoustic guitar continues the melodic improvisation around the opening rhythmic figure. This guitar takes a solo after the chorus (CD cue 2:36). The voice returns at the bridge, the chorus is repeated and the song concludes with the bridge passage.
Elton John's original version is in 4/4 time, which is more characteristic of a rock/popular song. The band opens with the chord progression played once through, the changes occurring on every second beat of the bar. The melody is sung in short 2 bar phrases, with some syncopation at the end of phrases, for example 'my old man'. (CD Track 8 cue 0:20).13 The voice is overdubbed14 throughout the whole recording and effects added to create a fuller sound. Elton John sings the bridge section in falsetto15 and is accompanied by backing vocal harmony and drum kit. (CD cue 0:39)
He continues to use even 2 bar phrase lengths without melodic variation. In the chorus he stays in his lower register on the word 'toad' where Katie Noonan leaps up the octave. In the second verse the phrase 'set you on your feet again' is emphasized by a backing vocal harmony above the main melody.
Katie Noonan delivers a completely individual interpretation of this Elton John song. She uses unique phrasing, a wide vocal range, contrast in vocal quality, melismatic phrasing and portamento. She changed the time signature and slowed down the tempo. She used an effective instrumental arrangement and varied the structure to create a powerful effect, while still retaining the basic harmonic structure and the integrity of Elton John's composition.
Beyond the Yellow Brick Road Structure |
|
| Elton John (3'07) | Katie Noonan 4'19) |
| Introduction | |
| Verse 1 | Verse 1 |
| Bridge | Bridge |
| Chorus | Chorus |
| Bridge | Bridge |
| Verse 2 | Verse 2 |
| Bridge | Bridge |
| Chorus | Instrumental |
| Bridge | Bridge |
| Chorus | |
| Bridge | |
Track 6 is a cover of the Vince Jones jazz ballad Blue from his album "For All Colours". The time signature is not changed and the structure of the song is the same, with the addition of a saxophone solo before the last verse. The interpretation of the song is in the same style as the original and yet the performance is highly individual.
The first verse is sung with a very even and controlled vocal tone in the high register. The phrases are similar to Vince Jones' interpretation until the last phrase, which Katie Noonan varies slightly with melismatic phrasing. For example 'who calls out your name' (CD cue 0:28).
She continues singing the second verse in a similar style and then moves to her lower register on "Broken dreams and empty shells" (CD cue 1:13), the opening phrase of the bridge passage. The even tone and controlled phrasing, and the ease with which she moves through to her upper register at the end of the bridge, demonstrate the extent of her vocal technique.
The arrangement once again highlights the musical discrimination of the group. The broken chord nylon string acoustic guitar accompaniment, the use of pianissimo sustained chords by the horn trio and restrained saxophone solo contribute to the sensitive performance of this song.
Mists of Ruse is one of Katie Noonan's own compositions, set to lyrics by Martin Challis. She seems prepared to experiment openly with her sound on this track, using an urgent, compelling voice soaring across a wide range.
The song opens with a broken chord introduction with a driving rhythm on the piano. The first four lines of the song are rubato16, so the piano accompaniment changes to one arpeggio per bar to allow the singer flexibility. The vocal melody is sung very quietly in the upper register, introducing large leaps at the end of the 2nd (CD cue 0:30), 3rd and 4th lines of the first verse.
The chorus line 'memories stamp with heavy feet' (CD cue 0:48) is repeated, and each time word painting is used on the words 'heavy feet' by leaping from very high in the upper register to the low register. The next line returns to the high register, but creates variety and interest though dynamic change. The last word is sung sotto voce17 the first time, and on the repeat is varied with a downward swooping melisma (CD cue 1:11), also sotto voce and performed effortlessly.
Verse two is sung quietly, with even phrasing. She begins to build up tension at the beginning of the chorus by increasing the intensity at the end of the repeated line. The final verse is performed with ever increasing dynamics, maintaining the intensity with the voice becoming stronger throughout. The piano accompaniment also gets louder and drives forward with the singer to the climax.
The last line 'are cooling now in the mists of rune' gradually gets softer, with a slight rubato on the word 'mists' and a very high sustained last note.
Throughout this song Katie Noonan is drawing upon her classical training to control the way she uses her voice. This is demonstrated by the even tonal quality, the ability to execute florid phrases sotto voce, the large leaps in the vocal line, the use of dynamics to increase intensity and create variety, the phrasing and the sense of drama.
The opening track on the album Tip of Memory is a setting of Martin Challis' lyrics by Katie Noonan and Nick Stewart. Her performance of the song demonstrates her skill and freedom in interpretation, and acknowledges the musical influences that characterize her singing. She attributes her technique to her mother "She's the woman who made me who I am. She taught me everything about technique, and she's such and amazing artist herself. And she's about five million times louder than me. She's got a huge voice. The true opera diva!"18
The song is arranged for acoustic guitar, tenor saxophone and string quartet. The acoustic guitar sets the mood with introduction using a finger picking style. The vocal melody is very high, descending slightly at the end of phrases. Katie sings the first three words of the second line, and then repeats them with the rest of the phrase. She does this again with the fourth line and it has the effect of placing more importance to the meaning of the text. For example: 'and I remember, and I remember moments spent with you'.
The single line 'potent, deep, and still' has extraordinary emphasis, because she sings it right down in her lower register, creating a completely contrasting tone colour. On the word 'still' she moves smoothly into upper register, and sustains the long note until the string quartet and saxophone enter.
At the end of the next line 'touching soul as soul two as one', she begins to interact with the instruments, introducing a melodic figure like a slow trill, which is taken up by the other instruments. A kind of instrumental section follows, with the voice treated as one of the instruments. The violin and voice exchange and develop the melodic figure and the voice continues to improvise over a wide range until the saxophone enters with a solo.
In the next verse the texture is polyphonic19 and very intricate. There is a lot of interplay between the instruments with the voice improvising over the top. On the line 'time spent touching, silent and still' Katie Noonan once again employs the technique of performing most of the line in one register and then leaping up the octave on the words 'and still'. The note is held for four bars without taking a breath, while the saxophone and guitar begin to improvise beneath it. The melody takes on a free improvisation, interacting with the instruments and increasing in dynamics and intensity until the climax. The mood gradually relaxes and the song almost fades away to the end.
The music of the rock band George is as difficult to define as that of Elixir. It is rock music that contains elements of classical, folk, funk, jazz and electronic music. The result is music that is both challenging and accessible to the listener. The group consists of Katie and her brother Tyrone, who each play keyboards and sing the songs they write. Guitarist Nick Stewart also shares the song writing credits. Paul Bromley plays bass and Geoff Green is the drummer.
A comparison of Katie Noonan's singing style between the two albums Elixir and the rock album Polyserena20 reveals the same characteristics, even though the style of music is different. Katie shares the lead vocals in rock group 'George' with her brother Tyrone, and they each sing the songs they write, mostly in collaboration with guitarist Nick Stewart. The songs are frequently social comments on current issues, underscored by driving rock guitar rhythms, electronic sounds and jazz grooves. Saxophone, strings and brass are an integral part of the music, often engaging in interplay with the vocal lines.
Tyrone's
voice is as individual as Katie's and has many similar characteristics.
The evenness of his vocal quality, which is never forced, is heard
at the beginning of Rain (Track 4). He uses light, smooth
phrasing with controlled vibrato on the ends of phrases. After the
hook line he improvises on a vowel sound, using soaring sustained
notes and moving freely around the registers. His ability to leap
across octaves without a change in vocal quality demonstrates his
excellent vocal technique. Chemical Dreams (track 8) illustrates
his control in his lower register, and his ability to maintain focus
throughout. That's When You Come to Me (Track 12) has
an exposed vocal line in which he uses a variety of tone colours to
highlight the atmospheric quality of the song. The last verse is
an example of his ability to improvise in his upper register. Listen to soundclips
of the above tracks from the album Polyserena at http://www.sanity.com.au/product.asp?intProductID=424921&intArtistID=11929 
. The complete track
of Breaking It Slowly can be heard on Australian music online http://www.amo.org.au/release.asp?id=3570 .
In March
2005 Elixir released their second album Elixir - Live at the Cornish
Arms21 Elixir were
commissioned by the Queensland Poetry Festival in 2004 to set the
writings of the Queensland poet Thomas Shapcott to music,
for a world premiere performance at the Festival. The group recorded
the songs live at the Cornish Arms in Melbourne, to
be mixed and released as a live album. Listen to the complete track
of Last Night's Comfort (track 4) at OZtrax http://www.abc.net.au/oztrax/stories/s1391340.htm .
This song is accompanied on keyboard with an electric piano sound
and is in verse/chorus form. Katie performs the melody mostly without
embellishment, maintaining the intensity through singing across the
phrases before taking a breath. The broken chord style of accompaniment
is played legato and underscores the flowing, wide ranging melody.
It is a very expressive and sensitive performance.
The world premiere performance of the song cyle Before Time Could Change Us was at the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music in 2003. It is a collaboration between Katie Noonan, composer Paul Grabowsky and lyricist Dorothy Porter and consists of a cycle of 16 songs which chart the course of a love affair. The album Before Time Could Change Us22 was released in August 2005 and won the 2005 ARIA award for Best Jazz Album. It is described as "a work of extraordinary breadth and delicacy. Not simply a work of jazz, it borrows from all manner of genre and art to create something unique, a fluid work of breathtaking beauty and emotion."23
In an interview by Nick Coppack for ourBrisbane.co24 Katie Noonan describes the technical challenges "Singing for george and singing for this project were similar in that it comes from the same space and my warm-up and techniques are the same, but Paul writes in a very athletic way for the voice. There are heaps of angular jumps and chromatic dissonance and difficult melodies…
"I've never performed with a trumpet before on an album, so it was a challenge to find the right tone and intonation because trumpets are always generally a little sharp. So it was a challenge to find how we work together, tonally. Scott has such a strong, intense sound that's so different to my sound so we had to work with that".
Katie her mother Maggie recorded an album of Jazz and Classical standards called Two of a Kind25 in 2004. The album was conceived by Martin Buzacott, former artistic administrator of the Queensland Orchestra, after hearing them perform onstage together. "They're both absolutely glorious singers...I think it will open up a whole new world of opera and classical music to people who only know Katie's work."26
Katie performs a range of jazz standards including Lush Life, Autumn Leaves and Too Marvellous for Words. Maggie sings several arias including One Fine Day, Song to the Moon and an aria from La Wally. They sing together in the Flower Duet from Lakme, the Letter Duet from The Marriage of Figaro and Summertime from Porgy and Bess. Accompaniments are by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Guy Noble, and the jazz trio the Funky Tones.
In conclusion, it is apparent that the freedom in interpretation that characterizes the music of Katie Noonan has been influenced by many musical styles, genres and traditions. She has drawn upon the technical skills she has developed through training and experience to create a uniquely individual sound that spans all musical traditions.
[1] High Noonan Ashley Hay The Bulletin, Vol. 121 No. 33
[2] Gorgeous George The Sun-Herald, April 22 2002 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/21/1019233294424.html
[3] What Katie did next The Age, May 4 2003 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05//03/1051876900844.html
[4] Bevan, Scott: On the Stage..Katie was practically born there July 24, 2003. Sydney Morning Herald
[5] Australian Music Online http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=4073
[6] Ibid. What Katie did next
[7] Ibid. What Katie did next
[8] Drinking it slowly: Our Brisbane online music guide review 7/5/03
[9] elixir FMR Records 2003. 336362
[10] Smooth
[11] Sliding up to the note
[12] Fragment of melody sung to one syllable
[13] Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002 Track 8 CD1.2002 Mercury Records Ltd. 077 012-2
[14] The same vocal line is recorded over the top of the exisiting track one or more times.
[15] Pitching the voice higher than its natural range
[16] Using a flexible tempo - slowing down and speeding up.
[17] In an undertone, quietly.
[18] Bevan, Scott: On the Stage.Katie was practically born there July 24, 2003. Sydney Morning Herald
[19] two or more melodic lines at once
[20] Polyserena. George 334862 Mushroom Records Pty Ltd. 2002
[21] Elixir - Live at the Cornish Arms elixirlive1 Recorded in 2004 at the Cornish Arms, Melbourne.
[22] Before Time Could Change Us: 2cd 15 Aug 2005 Label: WSM
[23] Ibid Australian Music Online
[24] Terrific talent Katie Noonan and Paul Grabowsky by Nick Coppack. Our Brisbane online review 22/9/05
[25] Two of a Kind Katie
and Maggie Noonan ABC Classics 2004 http://www.amo.org.au/artist.asp?id=3662
[26] The Sopranos by Karina Mochado WHO Magazine April 12, 2004
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