For many festival organisers & attenders, Liz Frencham won’t need any introduction. You may not know her name (though probably you will have asked someone for it), but what you will know for sure is her bright & shining presence – either on stage with Jigzag or Fred Smith or Brett Robin Wood or Acoustic Shock … or maybe you will have seen her adding her sparkle to a session somewhere in the wee hours of the morning… For wherever you find Liz Frencham, you’ll find music. Because it is, truly, in her blood… and in her soul.

Playfulness is the other essential quality in Liz’s character. Her ever-present laughter is as much a part of her performance as is her sumptuous bass playing and her mesmerizing vocal style. She’s a delight to watch in full flight – and you can be assured that when the music starts, that’s when you’ll find her – with wings almost visible.

And don’t be mistaken – this doesn’t mean she’s a stranger to the dark. One of the things that is most astonishing about Liz Frencham is her preparedness to wade (fully clothed, as it were) into waters deeper than many of us would choose to paddle in. Her lyrics cut deep into the heart of some very bitter wounds, and with a lyrical honesty that rings true. It’s sometimes said that you can’t judge a person by their words, but rather by their deeds. But with Liz, everything she sings for you is true and real. You can count on it.

Liz has been making music for the sheer love of it since she was old enough to play George Harrison’s "Something" on the ukelele. For many years, she’s been contributing her vibrant, glowing energy to the music making of many talented collaborations. 2005 sees her for the very first time placing her own solo work at the centre of her musical life, and I for one, am delighted to see it be so.

She gathered her very own ‘Dream Seat" ( her mythical backing band from childhood days) for her debut recording "Jericho", and has intricately woven arrangements that let us see the glistening threads of her innermost yearnings. And with instrumentation owing inspiration to her jazz training (French horn, flugelhorn, euphonium); a daring exploration of a new instrument for Liz (a Jack Spira crafted bouzouki); the slinkiest combination of double bass playing and liquid vocals of any act in Australia; and songs that shine with the newness of the chrysalis – Liz Frencham has emerged as one of the most exciting solo artists of this season.

I’ll always love watching Liz play in any combo, but there’s something especially thrilling to see her taking her own words and work & fashioning it into a thing of beauty just for us. If there was one word I had to use to describe her, it would be this : luminescent. Anyone who’s seen her sing and play will understand why.

Maree Robertson : Tasty Music Australia