Jorane

All Music Guide:

Having made a name for herself by being one of the very few -- if not only -- pop cellists who sings while she bows, Jorane (born Johanne Pelletier in 1975) released her first album, Vent Fou, in 1999 and would eventually play stages all over the world. She followed up her debut in 2001 with 16mm, which led to a live recording of her performance at the Montreal Spectrum as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In 2004, Jorane embarked on the two-part release Evapore and The You and the Now mini-albums, which allowed her to work with such talents as Daniel Lanois (whose guest vocals adorned Evapore) and Lisa Germano. For the next few years, Jorane spent her time taking her unique sound to stages in numerous countries, as well as winning a few awards and award nominations along the way. In 2007, she released the album Vers à Soi and the Internet-based Canvas or Canvass. A Juno Award nomination followed in 2008.

Wikipedia:

Jorane (born Johanne Pelletier, 1975) is a French-Canadian singer/cellist, who is notable for her alternative music style on a typically classical instrument as well as her ability to sing while playing cello at the same time.

Jorane's style on the cello has been compared to Tori Amos on the piano. She has worked with Sarah McLachlan among other well-known artists. In 2004, the press also reported that Jorane would appear on a Halloween special of the television series ZeD to perform a "witchy acid cello".

She has released five full-length albums. Her most recent album is Dix (2008) and her first mostly in the English language is The You And The Now (2005). She is now working on a web project named "Canvas or Canvass?".

Jorane performed a completely improvised piece inspired by the images she was presented with on a large screen, in Montréal on July 7, 2007 as part of "Montréal Terre", a sister concert of the Live Earth concerts.

Jorane gave birth to a baby boy on 22 October 2006.