Alma Zygier: A voice all her own
There is not a great tradition of rock royalty in this country, but Alma Zygier, the daughter of Oz rock legends Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier, is up there among them. No Nepo baby, she has cut her teeth in a field left of the realm in which her parents are famous. Rather than a young rock goddess, after eight years as a professional performer, she has become a queen of blues and jazz, renowned for her interpretations of the classic repertoire and no stranger to its many hallowed halls and festivals.
This coming weekend, she is making her WA debut with two shows at The Ellington—a matinee on Saturday, May 10, at 1pm (doors at noon) and a sunset show on Sunday, May 11, at 6pm (doors at 5).
As her bio puts it, ‘Bewitching and idiosyncratic, with grit and grime in her songwriting and vocals, at every turn she is playful and peculiar, portraying at once power, fragility and emotional maturity.’
Sure, bios always paint a rosy glow, but this one is no mere spin—just listen to her 2024 live album. Her renditions of Stardust, St. James Infirmary, and Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out are knockouts.
With a velvet voice that blends Billie Holiday with Minnie Riperton, her delivery is worldly-wise yet soft and sensitive, while her arrangements are quirky and cool, especially the horns. She would love to have brought her regular collective to Perth—rather than run her own band, she relies on Melbourne’s extensive network of freelance players—but the economics of touring didn’t stack up. Instead, she will be performing in a quartet with some of Perth’s finest sidemen: Harry Mitchell (keys), Shane Pooley (double bass), and Pete Evans (kit).
It’s not just her genes that set Zygier on the path to singing. Although her mother is a great mum, she is not much of a teacher, but her father is. From an early age, Willy Zygier treated his daughter to his collection of classic jazz and blues, much of which now features in her performance repertoire.
When she was ready to learn guitar and piano, he was there to teach her. Being a formidable guitarist, an accomplished piano player, and, as principal musical collaborator on many of Conway’s songs, a mean composer, he proved to be a good teacher as well. It’s little wonder that, by the time Alma got to Monash University and enrolled in the music course, she was already well on her way to becoming a professional. After eighteen months, she decided to leave the course, as she felt she wasn’t learning that much.
By then she was no stranger to the stage. There are many child performers, but not many who start in vitro. During her pregnancy, Conway released the aptly named Ultrasound album, the follow-on to her classic Bitch Epic. The accompanying clip featured an ultrasound recording of little Alma wiggling in the womb.
Since then, she and her two sisters, also fine singers, have regularly performed backing vocals in their parents’ show. In her own right, Alma has performed widely throughout the Eastern States, including, among many others, at the Adelaide Fringe and Cabaret Festival as well as WOMADelaide, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Rockwiz, Tamworth Country Music Festival, and the Sydney Opera House.
In a neat reversal of the generations, in recent years, her father has joined her on stage whenever he can, playing guitar.
Zygier has also earned the respect of Australia’s preeminent singer/songwriter, Paul Kelly. Her recording of the 1930s jazz classic, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, closes Kelly’s 2021 Christmas album. Zygier responded in kind by inviting Kelly to sing at her Very Jewish Christmas show. (There’s a sly joke in that, given that Jewish people don’t celebrate Christmas.) A show of Christmas songs written by Jewish people, he performed a stirring duet with Conway.
Kelly speaks eloquently of Zygier’s talents.
“There is a difference between very good singers and great ones. It can be difficult to define, but for me, it has to do with a singer’s ability to inhabit a song, embody and believe it, and transmit that belief to the listener. Alma Zygier possesses that most rare ability. She is a great singer, both compelling and convincing.”
You can’t get a much better endorsement than that.
After Perth, Zygier will perform a handful of dates in Melbourne and New South Wales before heading off to Europe. Although she doesn’t have any European shows booked, her past experience is that she quickly finds herself singing on various stages, especially in France.
Let’s hope she pops by Perth again on her way back and makes a beeline for stages here. In the meantime, though, catch her at The Ellington. Tickets for this weekend’s shows are available from the club’s website.
IAN LILBURNE