Jen Shyu

• DIGIPACK EDITION

Zero Grasses: Ritual for the Losses, the new work by sui generis vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jen Shyu, is a collection of songs devoted to the marginalized voices of women around the world, and a profound elegy to personal loss. The album is dedicated to her father, who passed away in 2019. It was Shyu's discovery of her old diaries while cleaning out his closet that transformed Zero Grasses into a coming-of-age story about her ambitions and personal reflections on the racism and sexism that she has faced throughout her life. The past year has also made her reflect on the ongoing racism in our society – she dedicates a song to the memory of Breonna Taylor – and life in the time of COVID. On "Living's a Gift," Shyu sings all the vocal parts to her first composition for choir, set to heartbreakingly wise words of middle schoolers affected by the pandemic.

PERSONNEL:

• Jen Shyu - Composition, vocals, percussion, piano
• Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet
• Mat Maneri - viola
• Thomas Morgan - bass
• Dan Weiss - drums

TRACKS:

• 01. Living's a Gift - Part 1: Springtime
• 02. Living's a Gift - Part 2: Everything for Granted
• 03. Living's a Gift - Part 3: My Unsolved Regrets
• 04. Living's a Gift - Part 4: Joyful
• 05. Lament for Breonna Taylor
• 06. The Human Color
• 07. A Cure for the Heart's Longing
• 08. Body of Tears
• 09. When I Have Power
• 10. Finally She Emerges
• 11. Display Under the Moon
• 12. Father Slipped Into Eternal Dream
• 13. With Eyes Closed You See All
• 14. Life As You Envision