 Boo-skay Bio
(Due to an oddly enunciated accent, people often ask where I'm from, and a convoluted answer awaits. I've moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware, Iowa, Vancouver BC; Santa Cruz, Hawaii, Austin and Wimberley (TX). As of last June, we're back in Iowa. For now. :-) ~ SB
Born in South Philadelphia to a musical family, Sharon grew up on the East Coast in towns like Chester, PA and Wilmington, DE. Voices from the left side of the radio dial began making an impression during the long vacations her family took each summer. With her father behind the wheel of a wood-paneled Ford station wagon and a small Scotty travel trailer rolling behind, the voices of Joni Mitchell, CSNY, and the progressive rock melodies of Yes, Led Zeppelin and Heart took hold. Those long car rides throughout the West left ample time for an artist’s imagination to rise, for a writer to be born.
Each of Sharon’s 6 CDs, including her first session in ’94 with the Vancouver-based ensemble “Travelers in Paradise” - a compilation that raised $10,000 for the H.I.V. ward of the Vancouver Children’s Hospital - have been independently released. Now, the strongest of the six reaches American audiences with the spring 2007 radio release of "Temple".
"Temple" was recorded and mixed in Austin, Texas at MoonHouse Studio with multi-instrumentalist Chris Gage at the helm (Albert & Gage, Roy Clark). The first track is a lush and open rendition of Nick Drake’s “Northern Sky”, with minimalist support from piano, bass and drums. This leaves plenty of room for Sharon Bousquet’s gift of a voice to take hold of the spotlight and not let it go.
“Sharon Bousquet does everything with sultry grace. She has considerable prowess on the acoustic guitar, yet puts her instrument down to belt out electrifying a cappella numbers like the gospel-tinged Temple. Bousquet has the substance to rise to the top.” R. Patt, Metro Santa
Discography:
Stormy Heaven (96)
Mirror, Mirror (98)
Bootleg Bousquet (01)
Live in Texas (04)
Temple (07)
Compilations:
A Christmas Wish (94)
Peace from The Porch, Vol. 2 (06)
News:
• 2 songs from Temple and a song from an earlier Bousquet release Mirror, Mirror (’98) can be heard in the upcoming film, “Cosmic Radio” (2008). Sharon will also receive a scoring credit on the film for instrumental background music. The film had it's premier at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2008, where it was the sleeper hit of the festival. Release later in 2008.
Awards/Kudos:
Winner, Jazz category, Austin Songwriter’s Group song contest for "No Valentine"
Winner, TX Heritage Music Foundation/Kerrville Folk Fest Essay Contest
Finalist, 16th Annual B.W. StevensonSinger-Songwriter Award, Dallas
Finalist, Inspirational, ASG Song Contest for the song "Temple"
Praise for Temple:
“Clean, uncluttered & transparent, the well-played, minimalist arrangements not only recall classic early singer-songwriter ventures by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading and Janis Ian, but Bousquet - remarkably - holds her own in that lofty neighborhood.” - Jim Musser, Iowa City Press-Citizen
“There’s magic in her delivery. Temple is the best CD I have heard in a long time. What a silver-clear voice! ” - Tormod Uleberg, Radio Loland (Norway)
“I love it! Reminds me of the great singer-songwriter records…Carol King, Janis Ian and so on. Sure, I’ll give airplay to Temple.” - Theo Oldenburg (NL)
“…magnificent melodies!” - Andrea Stolle, Old Stringhouse Music (Germany)
”Her music and voice are remarkable. I’ll be glad to add some of her songs to the show, starting with her outstanding version of Nick Drakes ‘Northern Sky’.” - Remo Ricaldone, Italy
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