Keeper
Keeper is a songwriting jazz duo who have performed together since the fall of 2018. Vocalist Cordelia Tapping and bass player Tyler Wagner create original pieces and put their own spin on existing compositions by delivering a unique, soft-toned sound to their audiences.
Keeper brings “quiet intensity, angular and unlikely harmonies, and metric geometry together in a concise and shiningly resonant style. Their contrasting backgrounds span jazz, classical, and folk traditions, fusing parts of all three in a bare bones, direct, and honest set of songs.”
Voice – Cordelia Tapping
Cordelia is a singer and songwriter known for her “velvet voice” and her songs which combine intricate harmonies with memorable, whirling melodies. She has performed throughout the U.S. including at the Off the Hook Arts Festival in Colorado, Jazz Central Studios in Minneapolis, Rockwood Music Hall in New York, the Yellow Barn Music Festival in Vermont, the Celebrity Series in Boston, and in NEC’s Jordan Hall as backup for Lake Street Dive and twice as a soloist with the NEC Jazz Orchestra.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory, studying with Dominique Eade, Carla Kihlstedt, and Hankus Netsky. At NEC, she taught songwriting workshops through the Community Performances and Partnerships department, served as the Marketing Director for the inaugural year of the EM Nova Fellowship, and interned for Music for Food. In September, she became a member of the voice faculty at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts. She is currently living in Jamaica Plain, working on her first solo set for voice and loop pedal, and thinking about recording some of her original compositions.
Here is an original composition by Cordelia Tapping and Angela Yam as part of the “In Good (ac)Company” series. The series randomly paired former and current New England Conservatory musicians for music-making. To develop their performances, pairs chose prompts like “create a sequel to an existing song,” or “use only household items as your instruments.” The unlikely pairs collaborated across cities, states, and countries to produce original, heartfelt performances.
Follow Cordelia Tapping:
On Instagram @cordeliatapping
On Facebook @cordeliatappingmusic
On Youtube Cordelia Tapping
Or find out more on her website cordeliatapping.com
Bass – Tyler Wagner
Hailing from the Twin Cities area in Minnesota, Tyler Wagner currently studies Jazz Performance at the New England Conservatory with the likes of Ethan Iverson and Cecil McBee. Beginning with a classical upbringing in orchestra when he was 11, Wagner’s musical endeavors have spanned far and wide. From playing in large and small jazz ensembles, to hip hop collectives, to rock bands, Tyler is certainly a flexible and strong performer, composer, and improviser in many contexts. He now performs regularly with Cordelia Tapping, the leaderless quartet Puzzle Jug, and numerous folk, rock, and jazz acts around Boston.
Follow Tyler Wagner:
On Instagram @_tylerwagner
On Soundcloud as Tyler_Wagner
