| Biography | Accent is a collaboration of musicians from around the world looking to bring you the best in a cappella and jazz. Nothing says "harmony" like coming together across international borders. Drawing inspiration from the vocal jazz pioneers who preceded them, Accent is forging a new path, melding jazz, pop and contemporary a cappella into one sound.
In the increasingly popular world of a cappella singing groups, Accent has carved out its own niche. Inspired by the wizardly jazz harmonies of TAKE 6 and, before them, The Hi-Los, the six men of ACCENT, all of them accomplished arrangers and instrumentalists in their own right, are taking their love of close-harmony jazz singing the denser and more intricate the better as far as it can go.
The improbable meeting of Jean-Baptiste (JB) Craipeau (France), Simon Åkesson (Sweden), Danny Fong (Canada), Andrew Kesler (Canada), James Rose (United Kingdom), and Evan Sanders (USA), six self-described jazz vocal nerds, could have happened only in the age of social media. After becoming long-distance fans of each others multi-tracked videos on YouTube, they joined forces in 2011, collaborating online on songs and videos.
Since then, they have released albums, performed at the London A Cappella Festival, played dates in Germany, France, Sweden, Mexico and the U.S., and were featured in a sold-out Christmas show at Londons Royal Albert Hall. Their singular blend and arrangements have been acclaimed by a cappella devotees and fellow musicians alike, including Cedric Dent of TAKE 6 and Clark Burroughs of The Hi-Los.
Their EP, In This Together, is a milestone for the group: its the first time the group has recorded together in the same studio. Far surpassing the usual a cappella group fare of pop covers, the album features six originals, including compositions by James, Simon and JB; a previously unrecorded song by TAKE 6 members Mervyn Warren and Mark Kibble; and contributions by Michael Jackson-collaborator Siedah Garrett and Denmark-based jazz bassist Kristin Korb. As Alan Paul said, You guys carry on the vocal group legacy. |