London-born singer and songwriter Joanna Wallfisch has a new record, “Blood & Bone,” set for release. The record deals with themes of heartbreak and healing. Wallfisch, who lives in Brooklyn now, plays ukulele, guitar and piano. Not long ago, she did a 16-date tour up a stretch of the West Coast traveling by bicycle. She’s also worked with children in the slums of India. Wallfisch comes from a family of classical musicians; her grandmother was a German Jew who survived Auschwitz in part because she played the cello.
Wallfisch is an artist who likes to get out and engage with the world, to keep in touch with the feeling of being alive, and sharing that with listeners in her music. Wallfisch has paid tribute to two Canadian giants of poetic folk music — Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell — but Wallfisch’s music is also informed by jazz, which she studied in school, both in the clarity of tone and the adventurousness of phrasing. As she’s matured as a singer and songwriter, Wallfisch has confidently moved toward a more stripped-down style that draws as much on folk and pop.
Joanna Wallfisch performs at The Side Door, 85 Lyme St., Old Lyme, Saturday, July 22, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $30. 860-434-0886 or thesidedoorjazz.com.
