Rhythm and News Magazine
March 1997
The jazz/rock grooves of NYC’s GrooveLily
by
Lisa Fairbanks
Perhaps the best word to describe New York City-based GrooveLily is ‘classy’.
The group, headed by vocalist/violinist Valerie Vigoda and keyboardist Brendan Milburn — accompanied by an assortment of drummers and other musical assistants — plays a tasteful, yet emotionally charged, mixture of pop/jazz.
Milburn says the band’s music has been described as electric folk alternative pop, somewhat to the dismay of the members, who ideally would like to find one word that truly describes its eclectic product.
The pairing of Milburn and Vigoda might seem odd, considering the musical paths each has chosen.
29-year-old Vigoda is an award-winning, classically-trained musician, the daughter of jazz pianist Bob Vigoda (who has worked with Sting, among others).
In 1994 Vigoda, then a solo artist, released her “inhabit my heart” album — a recording that was voted the number 1 album of 1994 by Rhythm and News Magazine.
In contrast to Vigoda’s classical training, Milburn, on the other hand, chose to play rock and roll and funk, playing primarily by ear as opposed to little black dots on paper. Milburn has paid his dues as a sideman for both Clarence Clemons and Ben Harper.
On stage, Vigoda is armed with a special violin, one designed to allow her to sing and play at the same time. She says the instrument is shaped like a flying-V guitar rather than a traditional violin, utilizing a guitar strap and chest support that allow her the freedom to handle both vocalizing and violin work simultaneously.
GrooveLily released its “jungle & sky” CD to rave reviews, including those which appeared in New York Newsday and The Washington Post — the latter calling GrooveLily’s material “smart, often passionate…radiating considerable warmth, intelligence and tunefulness.”
When asked about the name of the band, Vigoda says that it was a way to capture the “juxtaposition of our individual styles: the tight-knit rock rhythms of Brendan and the more flowing, lyrical quality of my music.” The name, as they say, stuck.
– Lisa Fairbanks