Sarah J Hyland

Sarah J Hyland: Betty Boop meets Billie Holliday
Melding traditional jazz influences with pop and blues, folk storytelling, jive and subtle R&B beats, Sarah J Hyland is bringing a new twist to jazz music with her release of “A Girl Like Me”. The album recounts Sarah’s exploration of relationships and the ups and downs that stem from each experience. The resulting songs take the listener on an emotional journey that ranges from despair to irony, frustration to self-effacing silliness.
“The album covers serious experiences, but does it in a very playful way musically,” says Sarah. The Hunter Valley native launched her professional career in Sydney and then broadened her repertoire in New York. “It’s serious fun because I wanted it to be musically light-hearted, even though some of the topics were quite painful for me at the time. The songs cover difficult topics that anyone can relate to, especially love and loss, but there’s always humour that comes out of the carnage.”
Sarah's self-penned lyrics are matched with the serious chops and composing skills of jazz guitarist David Longo. Together they have produced a collection of songs that blend honest lyrics with the serious sounds of Sarah's jazz quintet, including bassist Jonathan Brown, drummer Nic Cecire and keyboard virtuoso Gary Daley, who performs on piano, Rhodes, Hammond and accordion.
Both Sarah and David have had diverse musical careers, performing a range of styles with numerous artists. “We’ve paid the bills by doing lots of different types of gigs for other people, from pop to rock and dance,” says Sarah. “David and I have a strong love of jazz, but our eclectic backgrounds give our jazz sound an extra dimension of colour.” Sarah has sung with Vanessa Amarosi, Richard Clapton and Joe Camillieri, and performed at such notable venues as New York’s Bitter End and at Sydney’s Basement and Will &. Toby's Supper Club. David formerly played with the Australian Idol studio band for the show’s first two seasons, recorded with Paulini for her debut album and performed with Doug Parkinson.