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February 26, 2008 - The music of Lizz Wright offers a youthful yet seasoned mixture of jazz, folk, gospel, and R&B. The Georgia-based 28-year-old singer-songwriter is already a celebrated contributor to the jazz world, having recorded three albums.

Wright's first project, Salt, was a major jazz hit, and it didn't take long for its follow-up, Dreaming Wide Awake, to top the jazz charts following its release. After a year-long hiatus, Wright's new project, The Orchard, already has folks talking.

"I wasn't sure what I was going to come up with," Wright says. "I just really let myself be kind of wild and random."

Wright's eclectic style is part of what distinguishes her from her peers. But as a minister's daughter, she also attributes many of her sensibilities to years spent leading worshippers in song from the church piano.

"Music is still very much about communion for me," she says, "and just talking about what it is to be human."

Wright, whose musical influences include both Ike and Tina Turner, recently visited NPR studios for a performance and interview.