"[music] full of hope and nourishment in the face of hard times"
4 stars, Record Collector
Acclaimed UK vocalist Sarah Jane Morris and guitarist Tony Rémy return to Fleece Jazz to unveil their new project, ‘The Sisterhood 2’. The album was released earlier this year ahead of International Women’s Day with eleven new tracks celebrating the most influential female singer-songwriters of our time.
Many will be aware of The Sisterhood, the project Sarah Jane Morris and Tony Rémy brought to the club in May 2025, in which ten of the most notable female singer-songwriters of the Twentieth Century were the subjects of a unique song cycle. Morris and Rémy were already aware that ten was insufficient – others had to be included.
The momentum of writing and creating did not falter, and by the time of its earliest performance The Sisterhood had become twelve, with songs for Patti Smith and the then so recently and so tragically departed Sinéad O’Connor being added to the ten originals. Since then, another nine have been written. Peggy Seeger, Etta James, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Armatrading, Janis Ian, Tracy Chapman and Amy Winehouse have become part of the project, brought together in a second volume of unsurpassed quality. In Sarah Jane’s words, each of the singers chosen as subjects in ‘The Sisterhood’ are artists of excellence and originality, writers as well as interpreters and all have understood that talent and success give them voices to communicate on subjects of conscience.
Sarah Jane Morris is in her fifth decade as an internationally acclaimed singer. Her intelligence, range and command of narrative structure and emotional truth are at their height. Her dramatic training enables her to deliver extended, demanding lyrics with flawless intelligibility. ‘The Sisterhood 2’ provides startling new material such gifts demand. With Tony Rémy, a friend and colleague since the 1980s, she has found the ideal creative partner. They know each other so well, a mutual recognition of superlative standards and world-class practice, that their work proceeds with smooth understanding and absolute trust. Tony has long been regarded as one of the leading and most versatile guitarists anywhere in the world and is a master of Soul, Jazz, Funk and African Blues and a composer of invention and originality. His role in The Sisterhood as co-writer and co-producer is the other half of a magical equation – the voice, the words, the guitar, the shared expertise, the endless knowledge of what is needed, and where to go for the answer to that need – Morris and Rémy have it all, and ‘The Sisterhood 2’ is their latest masterwork.
With comments from the Guardian like ‘The next British Guitar hero’, we can expect a superb performance from Marcus Bonfanti. The Times chimed in with “Utterly Spellbinding”. Marcus is a blues singer, composer and guitarist. It will be a pleasure to welcome him to Fleece Jazz
Whether he is backing an international artist, in the pit in the West End, or especially, playing for us at Fleece Jazz, Henry Thomas is a stunningly fine multi-instrument bassist. He has gigged and recorded on countless hit records, TV and film soundtracks. He is also famous for his role as a co-founder of the BBC TV series Rock School. He has the rare expertise of being able to sightread and improvise at an extremely high level.
It is a joy to have all of these musicians back at Fleece Jazz to resume the wonderful song cycle that is The Sisterhood and the definitive evidence that we are witnessing some of the very best songwriting and performing.
"A highly enjoyable, original and entertaining set of songs – her ability as a songwriter really shines on this album. Highly recommended."
Jazz Journal