Biography
"SPIRIT," Jewel's first new album since 1995's Atlantic debut, "PIECES OF YOU," reverberates with passion and poignancy. Throughout the record, the strength of her lyrics and the confidence of her music reflect Jewel's growth and development as a songwriter.
"This album represents the movement toward spirit in my life and in the world," she says. "My first album is a time capsule of where I was at nineteen. After performing those early songs for the past five years, I'm excited to share more recent work."
The album features thirteen new songs, some tender acoustic folk ballads, others richly textured pop. All, however, give life to the theme of spirit via Jewel's singular, magical voice.
"Spirit," she says, "is the force within and around us that moves us to the highest expression of our nature as human beings."
"SPIRIT" also opens new windows into our shared humanity. Songs such as "Hands," "Deep Water," and "Life Uncommon" reveal the songwriter's faith in each individual's ability to make a difference, as well as the need for SPIRIT to enrich our lives. "Barcelona" chronicles Jewel's own struggle toward self-love, while "Kiss The Flame" and "Innocence Maintained" reflect the songwriter's belief in our intrinsic need to come together.
"We're all basically the same - we all yearn for love," Jewel says. And the more I've traveled in the world, the more I've seen how lonely everybody feels and what tremendous longing everybody has to be loved."
Early 1998 found Jewel ready to return to the studio, and by the Spring, she began to seriously prepare for recording. When she met with longtime Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard, Jewel knew she had found the right producer for the project.
"I knew all along that the theme of this record would be SPIRIT," Jewel says, "and Patrick embraced that. It was also important to me that he was a musician and a songwriter. I wanted someone who understood producing from the artist's perspective. For similar reasons, we used a number of musicians that were solo artists - like Jude Cole and Josh Clayton - people that do their own music. They really understood the songwriting."
Jewel and Leonard have fused elements of pop, folk, and rock into an evocative, finely woven musical tapestry. In addition to Jewel's guitar and Leonard's piano and keyboards, the backing group includes Jude Cole on acoustic guitar, Ednaswap bassist Paul Bushnell (Meredith Brooks, Celine Dion), electric guitarist Josh Clayton (ex-School of Fish), veteran Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Luis Conte (Phil Collins, Madonna, Lyle Lovett), and drummer Brian Macleod (Sheryl Crow).
Also appearing on "SPIRIT" are pedal steel guitarist Marty Rifkin (Tom Petty, Dwight Yoakum), drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and guitarist James Harrah (John Prine, Wilson Phillips), as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers bassman Flea, who performs on the potent "Barcelona."
"Flea is one of the most beautiful, heartfelt people on the planet," Jewel enthuses. "He was one of the first people I ever played my songs for. We've been friends for a long time."
The majority of "SPIRIT" was recorded at Groove Masters in Santa Monica. Many of the album's songs, including "Enter From The East" and "Fat Boy," were written over the past two years and have been featured occasionally in Jewel's live performances. Others - such as "What's Simple Is True," "Jupiter," "Barcelona," "Life Uncommon," and "Kiss The Flame" - are more recent, while both "Do You" and "Hands" were written in the midst of the recording sessions.
"I wrote 'Hands' because I think a lot about my own hands," Jewel says. "I look at the world and see such big problems, and my hands feel so small. Sometimes I have to remind myself that one person can make all the difference. People's hands burn churches. People's hands hold their children. We make choices every day, and we can use our hands to make the world a better, safer place."
The songs on "SPIRIT" are remarkably evocative, like the anthemic, organ-fueled "Life Uncommon." Throughout the record, the arrangements and melodies match the lyrical suggestion of vulnerability leavened with inner strength. "Jupiter" and the tongue-in-cheek "Do You" provide an up-tempo sense of fun, as does "Down So Long" with its infectious groove. That said, not every song on "SPIRIT" required an intricate backdrop to express its sentiment. The plaintive "Fat Boy" and "Enter From The East" are pure unfettered Jewel, just singer, song and acoustic guitar. Overall, the record asserts Jewel's distinctly personal sensibility of reaching out to others. If there is any lesson to be found on the record, it is that of self-determination and maintaining one's faith.
"I'm not telling people to become a specific anything," Jewel says. "I'm encouraging them to know themselves, keep their faith and follow whichever path is right for them. It's what I've encouraged in myself."
* * * * *
Of course, there is far more to Jewel's creativity than her music. Her first collection of poems, A Night Without Armor, displayed another side of her diverse talent. The book (published in May, 1998 by HarperCollins) went into a remarkable 15 printings as it became a mainstay of The New York Times best-seller list. As she gathered together the collection, Jewel was struck by the raw power of her early poems.
"The poems that I wrote when I was 15 or 16 were pretty bold," she says. "There's something really great about that, and it reminded me not to sacrifice boldness for the sake of craft."
Another new artistic frontier was crossed earlier in '98 as Jewel made her film acting debut. Her lead role as an 18-year-old bride in the Civil War drama, Ride With The Devil, found her co-starring with Tobey Maguire (The Ice Storm, Pleasantville) and Skeet Ulrich (As Good As It Gets) under the direction of Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet, Sense And Sensibility, The Ice Storm).
"He is so gifted," she says of her director. "To be guided by him was very comforting.
"My writing and my music are a study of emotion and evolution," Jewel continues. "Acting is the study of the subconscious and trying to portray things that I didn't even understand or know about. I had to be very open and vulnerable to do that. It was difficult, because there were times when I was way out of my comfort zone - confused, uncertain, fearful. But I like getting to the core, my own included."
Jewel credits her clear-eyed introspective nature to the influence of her mother, manager Nedra Carroll. She beams with love when discussing her mom, who, among her many contributions, sings backing vocals on "Hands" and a duet with her daughter on the album's additional track, "This Little Bird." This year Nedra formed Higher Ground For Humanity (HGH), their long-planned non-profit foundation with a mission to "support, inspire and empower new possibilities for humankind."
"I would not be able to create as I do if not for her vision, her management, and her attention to my personal growth," Jewel says of her mom. "Nedra and I are committed to using our success as a platform for positive change."
Higher Ground represents Nedra and Jewel's commitment to "being the difference that makes the difference." HGH fosters the positive SPIRITual evolution of human awareness and action, with a focus on programs geared towards youth, education, music and alternative health and healing. HGH develops and endorses individuals and organizations that integrate SPIRITual humanitarian principles into their work.
Among the organizations currently supported by HGH are: Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a non-profit group founded to explore human consciousness; the Center for the Study of Consciousness, an organization of University of Washington research scientists studying the relationship between conscious thought and disease; Families Helping Families, a non-profit program providing support and education for families whose children have died; and the Jenna Druck Foundation's Young Women's Leadership Program, which provides training for high-school-age women. In addition, HGH is currently supporting the development of an alternative health and healing clinic in New Delhi, India.
"As you can see, this isn't all about music," Jewel says. "Music is a wonderful expression and I love it, but the larger responsibility is to use the blessings of our lives to benefit humanity. Higher Ground For Humanity is an important step towards that goal."
* * * * *
Jewel soon plans to take to the road to allow her ever-growing audience the opportunity to get to feel the power of "SPIRIT." Though it was her live solo acoustic performances first caught the attention of many, Jewel is now looking forward to expanding the scope of her on-stage presentation.
"I'm really glad this record supports a band," she says. "One of the hardest things about 'PIECES OF YOU" was playing this little folk record in stadiums."
That knack for underdog achievement has followed Jewel since the release of "PIECES OF YOU" more than three-and-a-half years ago. She happily admits to being the last person to foresee her own future: an American Music Award for "Best New Artist" (among many other accolades); gracing the cover of Time, Rolling Stone, Interview and other national magazines; hit singles with "Who Will Save Your Soul" and the RIAA-platinum "You Were Meant For Me/Foolish Games"; and a Billboard top 5-charting, RIAA 8x-platinum certified debut album.
"'PIECES OF YOU' just wasn't suppose to happen," Jewel laughs. "I simply hoped to make an honest record about where I was at the time. I've tried to do the same with 'SPIRIT.'"
"SPIRIT" display's a depth of creative vision in its themes of faith, love, and human experience. The album's versatility and creative spark present Jewel as one of our most promising young singer/songwriters.
"Every time you make a choice that supports your creativity - instead of trying to uphold a vision the world has of you - the better off you are," says Jewel. "I've made a record that I feel good about musically, and that I feel is true to myself. That is the most I can do."
Biography Provided By Atlantic Records