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| Celebrated Vocalist CLAIRDEE Honors the Music & Spirit of Lena Horne with "A LOVE LETTER TO LENA" Jazz singer Clairdee has admired Lena Horne since she was four years old. Her mother and father instilled in her their admiration for Horne's intelligence, dignity, talent, and willingness to fight for what's right – qualities they wanted to see in all of their eight children. Clairdee pays homage to Horne on her newest project, A LOVE LETTER TO LENA, a spirited and inspiring album that integrates inventive arrangements of songs by Billy Strayhorn and contemporary composers with Clairdee's compelling storytelling. A mainstay on the San Francisco jazz scene, Clairdee has been performing for over 25 years in concert halls, festivals and nightclubs around the country and around the world. In addition to leading her world-class touring band, she has performed with some of America's most notable jazz masters. Clairdee's three previous CDs as a leader all received critical acclaim and helped cement her reputation as one of the top singers on the scene today. Clairdee began thinking seriously about putting together a very special project to honor Horne back in 2009. "The 2016 election helped me decide how I wanted to approach the Lena project. I didn't want it to be merely a tribute album of her greatest hits. My mother passed in 2007, and I wanted the CD to reflect my parents' hopes for their children through the lens of Lena's efforts for civil rights and equality. I also wanted to include a few songs that people may not be so familiar with. This album is not only my way of saying thank you to Lena for how she touched the lives of me and my family, it is a way for me to honor my parents' legacy and those of the millions of women and men that fought for civil rights. The lessons of their lives are resoundingly relevant right now. It is up to us to keep up the work. This is my 21st century call to acknowledgement and action." Personnel Clairdee vocals, Jon Herbst piano & keyboard Ron Belcher bass, Doug Miller bass Deszon Claiborne drums, Lance Dresser drums John Hoy guitar, Dave Bell guitar Mario Guarneri trumpet, Charles McNeal tenor sax Philip Santos violin, Emily Onderdonk viola Paul Hale cello, Margo Hall narrator Ashling Cole, Bryan Dyer, Zoe Ellis background vocals Guest vocalists Tony Lindsay, Janice Maxie-Reid, Kenny Washington Special Guest Regina Carter violin Produced by Jon Herbst and Clairdee Tracks 1. Old Devil Moon 4:19 2. Home (spoken interlude) :29 3. I Got A Name 3:30 4. Maybe 3:30 5. Hollywood (spoken interlude) 1:19 6. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child 2:34 7. Seminar with Drinks (spoken interlude) :37 8. I Want to Be Happy 3:56 9. Soul Mates (spoken interlude) :38 10. Something to Live For 5:57 11. I'm Free (spoken interlude) :47 12. Believe in Yourself 4:03 13. The Movement (spoken interlude) :58 14. Stand Up 4:27 write your comments about the article :: © 2020 Jazz News :: home page |