Now heading past my mid-20s, I look back and consider I’achieved a reasonable amount in that time. I’ve travelled, I’ve worked, I’ve lived in many different cities.
But then you stumble upon someone like Emily Bear and realise you could not achieve in two lifetimes what she has already packed into 17 years.
A full decade younger than I, the piano prodigy performed on Ellen aged just five, has appeared in world-renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl and Montreal Jazz Festival.
She has also received the highest accolades across musical styles including ASCAP Concert Music Composer of the Year, Herb Alpert Jazz Composer of the Year, W Magazine‘s “It Girl” of the year and a recent award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Oh, and if that is a little too niche, she performed and composed both the opening credits and end title songs to Warner Brothers’ recently released feature film, Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, and is the featured pianist on renowned composer Mark Isham’s score for the upcoming Universal film, A Dog’s Journey.
Just to hammer home the point that she can literally conquer any style at any time, she has veered into pop music with the release of new single ‘I Am Not Alone’, with an EP due later this year.
It is, naturally, an incredibly accomplished track with the haunting, searing vocals of an artist 40 years older.
Still featuring that trademark piano line, the Illinois native is not afraid to layer on the synth and effects and the fingerprints of accomplished producer Tony Gad, he of John Legend, Beyoncé and Fergie, are visible.
There’s still work to be done, naturally, as she is literally 17, and you can’t help but feel there is a more distinctive style within her, but this is a hugely catchy effort and the EP is sure to be a cracker.
On The Beat 