It’s a long way from Gore, New Zealand to sharing a stage with the likes of Madeleine Peyroux, Art Garfunkel and Daniel Lanois. It all sounds pretty exciting and exotic in former Gore musician Jackie Bristow’s world.
“I’m living the dream, but it’s not easy. It’s not an easy dream.” She says. Bristow discovered singing in the St Mary’s School choir when she was 8, and by the time she was 14 she was touring the South Island with her sister, Katrina as the Bristow Sisters. She hasn’t stopped since. After a decade spent touring the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, this singer-songwriter has earned her spurs. Her sweet melodies and hypnotic tones have US critics heralding her as one of New Zealand’s most talented musical exports.
“I’ve done a lot of traveling over the last six or seven years. I love it. I don’t think I’ll ever stop, really, “ she says. Jackie moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to record Crazy Love. She immediately surrounded herself with the cream of producers and musicians in the country. Produced by LA-based Helik Hadar (mixer/engineer for Madeleine Peyroux, Joni Mitchell, Rufus Wainwright), and Mark Howard (Tom Waits, Lucinda Williams, Marianne Faithfull, Sheryl Crow), Crazy Love, is a hauntingly beautiful collection of new material showcasing Jackie’s alluring vocal ability and song-writing smarts.
Crazy Love includes Australia's finest guitarist Mark Punch (Renee Geyer) along with international luminaries Larry Klein (bass - Joni Mitchell, Peter Gabriel), Tim Pierce (guitar - Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman, Rod Stewart), Brian MacLeod (drums Sheryl Crow), Zak Rae (keys - Alanis Morissette, Macy Gray), Jay Bellarose (drummer - Melissa Etheridge, Madeleine Peyroux), Daryl Johnson (bass - Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Emmy Lou Harris), Michael Chaves (guitar - John Mayer, Sarah McLachlan), Larry Goldings (keyboard ˆ James Taylor), Don Heffington (drums - Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams).
Jackie’s regular Los Angeles band includes Jeff Young, member of Steely Dan’s and Jackson’s Browne’s band, and her drummer Mauricio Lewak also plays with Jackson Browne and Melissa Etheridge. That’s life as a respected musician in Hollywood.
Having first moved to Australia in the mid-nineties, Jackie recorded her debut Thirsty (Mushroom / Liberation). Since then, Bristow has built up an enviable live reputation. She recently performed at the Canadian Music Festival in Toronto, a sell-out Australian tour with Daniel Lanois, and has also performed with Art Garfunkel, Madeleine Peyroux, Renee Geyer, Bic Runga, Mark Seymour, The Whitlams, The Badloves, and British band Capercaille.
“It didn’t take long, sitting there in Hollywood’s Hotel Café, a great venue for singer-songwriters, to realize that Jackie Bristow was special.” Desert Highway Magazine
2007 saw Jackie secure exposure for her music in store across 7,000 Starbucks locations in the USA, as well as New Zealand and Australia, and she can be seen on the brand new instore screens throughout New York and Seattle and through the highlighted show Contemporary Grind.
Bristow’s songs have featured on hit Australian television shows The Secret Life Of Us and Home And Away, and in 2004 her song Carry Me Away featured in the Australian movie Go Big.
In 2005, Jackie won the Tourism Australia Song For Australia Competition for their international campaign to promote Australia to the world. Her winning track, This is Australia, was used in consumer and trade promotions worldwide. Back in New Zealand, two tracks from Crazy Love have been play-listed on Air New Zealand flights, and two have featured on the hit New Zealand television show Outrageous Fortune.
Jackie has just released her album in the US and has recently played at the prestigious venues The Birchmere (supporting Phoebe Snow) in Virginia and The Stephen Talkhouse in New York. This year Jackie has also opened for Jimmy Webb and Paul Williams in Australia at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney.
Jackie’s NEW VIDEO for the her latest single and title track, Crazy Love was shot on Piha Beach, on New Zealand’s West Coast by director Paul Taylor (Fish n Clips NZ), who has done clips for the likes of Tim Finn. Crazy Love has just been added to CMC in Australia where her last video charted for over 3 months.
