Lizz Wright and Kenny Banks Sr. Release Duo Album NEARNESS

Acclaimed vocalist and songwriter Lizz Wright and pianist Kenny Banks Sr. have released their duo album, Nearness, via Blues & Greens Records and Candid Records. The 11-track collection brings Wright and Banks together across jazz standards, spirituals, and original songs, marking the first full album centered entirely on the exchange between Wright's voice and Banks' piano and organ.

On Sunday, October 4, Wright and Banks will bring their new album to life with a special performance for an album release show at New York City's City Winery. Doors open at 6PM and the pair's set begins at 7:30PM.

The album's focus track, 'All the Things You Are,' offers a direct presentation of the trust and musical connection Wright and Banks have developed over more than two decades of collaboration.

Produced by longtime musical director and guitarist Chris Bruce, Nearness includes interpretations of 'The Nearness of You,' 'Jazz Ain't Nothin' But Soul,' 'Soon I Will Be Done,' 'Hold On,' 'Just You, Just Me,' 'Amazing Grace,' 'How I Got Over,' and 'Deep River.' The album also features two original compositions: 'Hold Me,' with music by Banks and lyrics by Wright, and 'Circling,' presented as an a cappella closing track.

Nearness follows a musical relationship that began during Wright's college years in Atlanta. Wright first heard Banks perform at the Atlanta Jazz Festival while she was a freshman at Georgia State University. The two later shared the stage at an Atlanta jam session, where Wright performed the few jazz standards she knew at the time.

'When the audience asked for more, I didn't have anything ready. I turned around and asked Kenny if he could play 'Amazing Grace,'' Wright recalls. 'He smiled, looked down at the piano and started digging into it as a blues. That moment changed my life. I'd never sung a blues. I'd never felt prayer and longing and lust and confusion at the same time. And the sound came out with all those things.'

Banks became one of Wright's most trusted collaborators, helping her develop her repertoire, understand the etiquette of jazz performance and learn how to lead and work within a band. Their shared backgrounds in the Black American church, along with their interests in jazz, R&B and improvisation, formed the basis of a partnership that has continued throughout Wright's career.

The album title comes from its opening track, Hoagy Carmichael's 'The Nearness of You,' a song that has remained part of Wright and Banks' repertoire for years. Wright previously performed it as a special guest for The Apollo Theater's 2016 tribute concert, The Apollo Celebrates Ella, and later tapped Banks for a live performance video.

Nearness also draws from the spiritual tradition on songs including 'Soon I Will Be Done,' 'Hold On,' 'How I Got Over' and 'Deep River.'

Central to Wright's catalogue, Banks has been part of her other releases throughout the years, including Salt (Verve, 2003), and acclaimed records such as Dreaming Wide Awake (Universal Music Group, 2005), The Orchard (Universal Music Group, 2008), Fellowship (Universal Music Group, 2010), Freedom & Surrender (Concord, 2016), Grace (Concord, 2017), and Shadow (Blues & Greens Records, 2024).

Ultimately, the new record reveals deep kinship and trust in the forms of Banks' signature arrangements, which serve as an architectural frame for Wright's profound delivery.

The duo will bring Nearness to the stage for select performances in the United States and United Kingdom this fall.

Tracklist

1. The Nearness Of You

2. Jazz Ain't Nothin' But Soul

3. Soon I Will Be Done

4. Hold On

5. All The Things You Are

6. Amazing Grace

7. Just You, Just Me

8. Hold Me

9. How I Got Over

10. Deep River

11. Circling

Tour Dates

October 4, 2026 - City Winery, New York, NY^

October 8, 2026 - High Point Theatre - High Point, NC*

October 10, 2026 - Berklee Performance Center - Boston, MA*

October 21, 2026 - Kulturetage - Oldenburg, Germany*

October 22, 2026 - Stadschouwburg - Sint-Niklaas, Belgium*

October 24, 2026 - De Doelen - Rotterdam, Netherlands*

October 25, 2026 - De Oosterpoort - Groningen, Netherlands*

October 26, 2026 - Muffathalle - Munich, Germany*

October 28, 2026 - Centralstation - Darmstadt, Germany*

October 29, 2026 - Enjoy Jazz Festival - Heidelberg, Germany*

October 30, 2026 - Teatro Albéniz Madrid - Madrid, Spain*

November 1, 2026 - Stadthalle Koln-Mulheim Julich - Cologne, Germany*

November 3, 2026 - Kammermusiksaal - Berlin, Germany*

November 4, 2026 - Enter Music Festival - Poznan, Poland*

November 5, 2026 - Wojciech Kilar Polish Philharmonic 'Sinfonia Baltica' - Slupsk, Poland*

November 7, 2026 - Cosmopolite Scene - Oslo, Norway*

November 13, 2026 - Jazz Voice Gala 2026 - Royal Festival Hall - London United Kingdom^

November 14, 2026 - Saffron Hall - Walden, United Kingdom^

November 15, 2026 - Cadogan Hall - London, UK^

December 7, 2026 - Keystone Korner - Baltimore, MD^

December 10, 2026 - Library of Congress - Washington, DC^

April 22, 2027 - De Singel - Antwerpen, Belgium^

April 27, 2027 - Martinskirche - Basel, Switzerland^

May 7, 2027 - Sheldon Concert Hall - St. Louis, MO*

October 6-13, 2027 - Botti at Sea 2027 - Boston, MA to Quebec City, Canada^

^duo show with Kenny Banks Sr.