Nancy Ruth puts love in the spotlight with her seductive new single Turn The Lights Back Down — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“It invites us to take pause during this time of global chaos, and tap into the love that connects us all,” the Canadian jazz singer-songwriter explains. And she knows from global chaos: “I recorded this song between New York, Vancouver, and Spain, both before and during COVID-19 confinement. The onset of travel restrictions caught me while I was in Malaga, Spain, which delayed my return to Canada.”
Originally from British Columbia, Ruth has made the world her stage, travelling to perform or reside in Morocco, Brunei, Polynesia, Panama, Spain, and more following esteemed studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Douglas College, and Berklee College of Music. Since her self-titled debut in 1998, Ruth has released four additional titles — It’s Got To Be Love (2004), Me Quedo (2008), Para Ti (2014), Sangria Jam (2016) — as well as a series of critically acclaimed singles, each embodying her fearless, fiery yet elegant signature sound.
“I write what flows freely,” she says. “I’m not trying to create a fusion, I just play what I feel. I’m a product of my experience and surroundings.”
Those experiences stack up. Most recently, having spent a shining part of 2019 in New York City to record new works with arranger Joe Gianono (Blood Sweat and Tears, Michel Camilo) and Grammy-winning engineer Oscar Zambrano — including a soundtrack piece, Where the Sea Melts to Sky, featuring members of the New York Philharmonic — she was a featured composer and artist at Africa’s biggest jazz festival, Festival du Saint Louis in Senegal.
Before that, she both crooned for the Sultan of Brunei’s harem, had to sign a ‘high-risk activity clause’ during a stint in the Yukon due to her penchant for skydiving, river-rafting, and bear watching, and legally dropped her former last name of Trump. She’s currently working on a documentary detailing with her travels through Morocco, cross-culturally collaborating with musicians in Berber tribes, deserts, towns and cities from Tangier to Tiznit.
Listen to Turn The Lights Back Down above, hear more from Nancy Ruth below, and try to keep up with her via her website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
