“(Ann Hampton Callaway) owned the stage - and the audience's hearts - for fully half of the
program. This raven-haired creature, who somehow was able to walk on her
impossibly high, stiletto-heeled Manolo Blahniks, literally blew away any
cobwebs off the ceiling. And she did it, song after song, note after impossible note, and made it
look easy.” NAPLES TIMES - Peg Goldberg LongstrethClick here for the full review |
»Keep up-to-date with Tour info and News. Sign Ann's guestbook. Click here.«
Blues in the Night Won 2008 Member's Choice CD Award from Cabaret Hotline
Click here for Cabaret Hotline website.
TRIBUTE TO ELLA CELEBRATES ELLA FITZGERALD'S 90th BIRTHDAY YEAR
WITH A BIG
BAND AND SPECIAL GUEST VOCALISTS
JAZZ REVIEW
Live: 'A Tribute to Ella'
March 4, 2008
Singers from jazz and R & B explore the First Lady of Song's oeuvre at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Ella Fitzgerald had so many musical qualities to admire that it's no surprise that it took a lineup of five very different singers to explore them in "A Tribute To Ella" Sunday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall. And even that wasn't enough to fully display the rich diversity of the First Lady of Song.
The inner creativity -- the quest to make a song her own -- that was at the heart of Fitzgerald's singing was best illustrated by veteran vocalist Mark Murphy. At 75, he's equally comfortable moving from the Swing Era to contemporary pop. Of his three songs, Murphy's ballad renderings of "I'm Through With Love" and "Body and Soul" were the most impressive. Finding the heart of the stories, moving lyrics around, winging freely across the harmonies, he transformed classics into up-to-the-minute interpretations, simmering with emotional density. Just the way Ella would have done.
There also couldn't have been better choices to explore Fitzgerald's cool lyricism, innate musicality and swinging improvisations than Ann Hampton Callaway and Janis Siegel. Both possess extraordinary vocal instruments, and both move easily across the vast range from intimate balladry to up-tempo scatting.
Callaway took on the daunting task of handling three hard-swinging Fitzgerald classics: "Mr. Paganini," "Lady Be Good" and "How High the Moon." And she delivered on every count, applying her unique scatting style and remarkable range, occasionally tossing in whimsical instrumental simulations. The only thing missing was the opportunity to hear Callaway sing a songbook ballad.
The Manhattan Transfer's Siegel, like Callaway and Fitzgerald a singer for all seasons, brought velvety warmth to "Midnight Sun" followed by big-band panache to "Like Young."
Singer-actor T.C. Carson added the hip swagger of the Swing Era to his versions of "Satin Doll" and "Summertime." Strutting an occasional dance step, his feature number exchange on the latter with drummer Ndugu Chancler was one of the evening's visual highlights.
The audience darling, however, was singer Ledisi, a 2008 Grammy nominee for best new artist and R&B album. Although the jazz skills she displayed on "Fly Me to the Moon" and, especially, a climactic "Blues in the Night," were minimal, her spirited, gospel-driven voice and engaging desire to please were enough to bring a trace of Fitzgerald's beyond-genre enthusiasm to her performance.
Most numbers were accompanied by a big band, conducted by music director Patrice Rushen and filled with the Southland's finest players. The audio, which sounded oddly slanted and muddy, perhaps as a result of the angled bandstand, did not favor the singers, and the most effective numbers in this otherwise entertaining evening were those backed only by the rhythm section and -- for Murphy's selections -- pianist Tom Garvin.
Don Heckman - SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
'Singer's Spotlight' starts with the art
By Howard Reich | Tribune arts critic
July 26, 2007
There may be hope yet for the literate American pop song, at least on public television.
The premiere of "Singer's Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway" (8 p.m. Thursday on WTTW-Ch. 11) certainly offers a compelling alternative to the musical hysteria of "American Idol" and the dizzying, quick-cut editing of uncounted cable-TV music shows.
"Singer's Spotlight," by contrast, places the emphasis where it belongs: on the singer and the songwriter. Moreover, because this half-hour pilot of a proposed public-TV series deals in classic jazz and Broadway repertoire, it presents art songs of a sort rarely encountered on free TV anymore.
Callaway, a former Chicagoan who has blossomed into an unusually versatile vocalist, long has envisioned this project as a forum for conversation and performance. Serving as host, interviewer and vocalist, she aims to guide the viewer through the art and biography of her guest du jour.
That she managed to snare no less than Liza Minnelli as her first subject says a great deal about Callaway's aspirations for this show, which bears some resemblance to already established programs.
Like James Lipton's "Inside the Actors Studio" (on Bravo cable TV), "Singer's Spotlight" offers a discussion on the nature of making art. Like Ramsey Lewis' "Legends of Jazz" (on WTTW), Callaway's show features a house band that accompanies the on-the-set musical performance.
But, in some ways, Callaway has moved beyond these models. The soft-glow lighting, ultra-chic set and slowly caressing camera movements bring palpable, retro glamor to "Singer's Spotlight." If you didn't know better, you might have thought the show was conceived a couple of generations ago -- in a more romantic era -- even though its sleek visuals only could have been achieved through current technology.
What matters most, however, is the music, and this is where "Singer's Spotlight" achieves its best results.
When Minnelli steps stage center to deliver a signature song, Kander and Ebb's "And the World Goes Round," there's no question that "Singer's Spotlight" has scored a classic television moment. Shrewdly pacing the progress of the tune, Minnelli surges from one vivid climax to the next. Her voice may be weathered, her vocal wobble all too plain to hear. Yet, like the song's protagonist, she emerges a survivor, triumphant despite the wounds of her life.
In duets with Callaway on "Stormy Weather" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay," the sensuousness of Callaway's soprano softens the rough edges of Minnelli's famously gutsy style.
The conversation produces some gems as well, including Minnelli's advice to potential "American Idol" combatants: "The first thing I would say is: 'I want you to stay absolutely still, and sing the song,'" says Minnelli, referencing the melodrama that often passes for singing these days.
Yet if "Singer's Spotlight" hopes to approach the conversational depth of Lipton's program, it will have to expand beyond 30 minutes and, equally important, Callaway will need to challenge her guests.
Nevertheless, even at this early stage, "Singer's Spotlight" represents a triumph -- for Callaway, for public TV and, above all, for anyone who values sophisticated songs, passionately sung.
Callaway TV pilot an antidote to 'Idol'
By Howard Reich
Tribune arts critic
May 13, 2007
It just might work.
With jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway as host and no less than Liza Minnelli as first guest, the TV pilot that taped Thursday at WTTW-Ch. 11's Northwest Side studio shows enormous promise.
Chicago viewers will be able to judge for themselves the merits -- and rough spots -- of "Singer's Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway" when the initial installment airs July 26 and repeats July 29 on WTTW. No doubt a great deal will be achieved in the editing room between now and then.
But based on the two taping sessions that Callaway, Minnelli and a sleek jazz trio turned in last week, the half-hour program is well poised to fill a niche sorely lacking on free TV.
For what pianist Ramsey Lewis' "Legends of Jazz" program (also taped at WTTW) has done to bring sophisticated instrumental music back to the small screen, "Singer's Spotlight" could accomplish for the vocalist's art. With Callaway serving triple duty as emcee, interlocutor and singer, the show poetically celebrates songs written for grown-up sensibilities.
"American Idol," in other words, this is not.
"It's upsetting to me that people think that's what singing is about," said Callaway before the taping, pointing to the often hysterical bleating that passes for song interpretation on the ubiquitous TV program.
From Callaway's perspective, "American Idol" features one contestant trying to out-screech another, the aspirants swaying, swooning and preening before cameras and judges, rather than communicating the deepest, subtlest meanings of a song.
"It's a very formulaic approach," she said. "The singers get up there, they do all the moves, but they don't know how to connect with an audience."
Receiving their due
Meanwhile, master singers such as Tony Bennett, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson and Callaway herself rarely receive significant TV exposure. Sadly, their hard-won artistry doesn't fit into the game-show format of today's prime-time musicmaking.
"Singer's Spotlight" tries to address that imbalance. And though no public-television show ever is going to capture a fraction of the ratings that "American Idol" attracts, the mere possibility that a TV program -- any TV program -- could feature virtuoso singers performing great repertoire has to inspire anyone who values American art songs, well sung.
"The idea is to explore the craft, to get back to the historical roots of the American song tradition," said Fawn Ring, producer of "Singer's Spotlight."
"Sometimes people say to me, 'I don't like show tunes,' or, 'I don't like jazz.'"
"But when I say, 'Do you like Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra?' they say, 'Yeah!"
"So my sense is that people discover this music maybe later in life."
Thus Ring believes the natural audience for "Singer's Spotlight" will be Baby Boomers, a demographic that neatly intersects with much of public-television's viewership.
Before "Singer's Spotlight" reaches that national audience, however, Callaway, Ring and friends have some selling to do. They plan to use the forthcoming pilot to try to raise funds and generate broadcast interest for an initial, eight-show season, which they hope to launch next spring.
Judging by Thursday's first outing, they have hit upon an engaging format that could use a little tweaking.
Conceived as something of a cross between James Lipton's "Inside the Actors Studio" (on Bravo cable TV) and "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" (which airs locally on WFMT-FM 98.7), "Singer's Spotlight" offers a mix of conversation, solo performance and musical duets.
When Callaway walks on stage, buoyantly swinging the theme song she penned for the show, she instantly establishes credibility. Her voluptuous soprano and deft scat singing assure the viewer that she can hold her own -- musically -- alongside just about anyone who might be her guest (for future episodes, she hopes to enlist Melissa Manchester, Bonnie Raitt and other stylistically far-flung troubadours).
Scoring a coup
Callaway obviously scored a coup in signing up Minnelli as the premiere guest -- few singers in the non-rock genre own a comparably illustrious resume.
Minnelli's vocal performance Thursday showed that she still has as much guts and grit as ever, though she struggled at times to summon all the vocal power she wanted, and to control the wobble that often creeps into the work of well-seasoned singers.
Even so, when Minnelli stood alone at the microphone, singing the Kander and Ebb anthem "And the World Goes 'Round," there was no question that one of the most knowing interpreters of our time was re-asserting herself.
Her exquisitely slow crescendo and extraordinary, shattering climax were the work of an artist who knows how to wring maximum drama from every note, every pause, every thrust of her hands.
When she duetted with the host in "Stormy Weather," Callaway's creamy vocals helped soften Minnelli's rougher vocal edge.
As for the conversation, Minnelli and Callaway -- longtime friends -- spoke easily to one another. Still, Callaway should consider toning down her effusions about her guest, posing more challenging inquiries and stating them more concisely. This would deepen the substance and increase the tempo of the colloquy.
Nevertheless, all parties involved here deserve a round of applause: If this show gets picked up, it could raise TV's musical IQ by several dozen points.
Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune
Hear Ann as the society band singer singing ”Come Rain Or Come Shine” on the soundtrack of
“The Good Shepherd” released 1/9/07.
Click here to purchase and see track listings.
ANN APPEARS IN "THE GOOD SHEPHERD"
The Very Good Shepherd
Although my Hollywood feature film debut happened on December 22nd, I was
reluctant to write about it here as the holiday season was foremost in
everyone's minds and hearts including my own. Now time has passed and
friends and fans have been writing me every day to share their delight in
catching me up there on the silver screen as the "1961 Deer Island Singer".
Pinch me, but it's true. I'm a movie star!
If you don't believe me, buy tickets, a soda, some popcorn and see for
yourself. Three fourths into Robert De Niro's engrossing spy thriller, the
camera pans on yours truly singing in front of a society band in a yellow
gown with "higher the hair, closer to God" hair (thank you, Aqua Net) for
just enough time to make my friends shriek "There's Ann!" to the
consternation of audiences around the country. And during 30 seconds or
less, you can hear me singing "Come Rain or Come Shine" while Angelina Jolie
and Matt Damon are dancing and enduring a marriage that is in more danger
than the country. Can you blame me for wanting my own autograph? I got to
work with the most famous person in the cosmos who, when brought up by "Bob"
to meet me, purred in a breathless voice as she shook my hand, "Hi, I'm
Angie." I'm pleased to report that adoption papers are in the works. It
will be lovely living with Maddox and Zahara.
All silliness aside, it's a film not to be missed. De Niro devoted 11 years
of his life to work on Eric Roth's epic script and bring this gripping true
story of a CIA agent to light. Though the film isn't the blockbuster we all
hoped for, it has made several of the Top Ten lists for Best Movie of the
Year. As a fan of European cinema, I loved all the fine tuned performances,
the gorgeous light and shadow of every shot, and how the intensity of the
story smoldered more slowly and deliberately than any thriller I've seen.
There elegance to this movie that is surprising. And it is unmistakably
Matt Damon's finest acting to date. I just watched him on "Inside the
Actor's Studio" and loved hearing him describe in detail about how working
with Robert De Niro as a director helped him grow and turn in his finest
performance. Having Bob three feet across from him during every shot, he
knew that only the truth will be permitted. No tricks, no acting, just
gritty unmistakable truth.
When I was called by Sandy Park to record the Arlen classic for the
soundtrack, I had no idea that Robert De Niro would be there at the session.
There he was with those deep, soulful eyes and an aura of extraordinary
quiet and gentleness. I was finally meeting one of the greatest actors of
our time, a man I've always held in highest esteem. In between takes, we
talked a bit in the green room about music and I was happy to find out what
a fan he was of American popular standards. It was also fun being a spy and
watching him choose music for other scenes with his producer Jane Rosenthal.
(A wonderful dynamo and the owner of the world's cutest Yorkshire terrier.)
What a challenging assignment this recording was because it was recorded as
an instrumental track. The last minute De Niro decided to use the irony of
the lyrics "I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you" while the couple was
dancing in anguish on the parquet. Not only did I have to sing the song a
fourth lower than I recorded it on my CD "Easy Living", I had to finesse a
way of singing it to fit exactly to the instrumental melody. There wasn't
an ounce of swing or Ann in this interpretation. So this assignment was to
be a musical puzzle and an acting challenge. De Niro is famous for being a
very detailed and nuanced creator so recording one song lasted much longer
than I was used to, being a one or two take singer in most cases. He wanted
about thirty or so takes so he could find the exact tone, volume and texture
for the action and dialogue taking place. After every other take, he would
walk up to me and whisper an idea about a phrase or inflection. I loved
taking his direction and trying to give him the subtle things he asked for.
What made it especially rewarding was how he would give me a little kiss on
the cheek to encourage me before he walked back to the control room. (I
still haven't washed the left side of my face.)
The next day I got the call that De Niro had decided to put me in the shot
and I had better get myself over to Chelsea at Ann Roth's studio first thing
to be fitted for a gown. What a coup. Ann Roth is everything you want in a
Hollywood designer. Brilliant, quick, instinctive, funny and faaabulous.
And she was a fan, so that added to the fun. After the first fitting, full
of Hollywood anecdotes and Nathan Lane stories, I brought plates of cookies
and sweets over to her wonderful staff because I felt sorry that they had to
make a costume for me with so little time. And, with the inspiration of
chocolate, make it they did.
There I was, finally, whisked off in a town car for the big shoot at The
Brooklyn Armory. It was an unbearably hot day, somewhere in the hundreds.
Air conditioning was prohibited because it was too noisy for the filming.
So in that punishing Hades what was there to do but use a little Uta Hagen
and pretend you were cool to keep your makeup from sliding off your face.
Fortunately, the makeup and hair folks were patient and fun and looked out
for us all every step of the way.
Being someone who loves live performance, it was surreal to be waiting for
hours and hours to do the shoot. I realized I would probably go insane if I
had to be a movie star, with all that waiting (but that's a risk I'm willing
to take.) Finally, when the moment came, I loved being on stage with the
band, some of whom I'd worked with before, as they were directed to pretend
to play their instruments without actually making any sound (really hard for
a drummer). I had memorized several of my takes and the last minute Bob
chose the take that I was to do lip syncing to. I actually sang every take
incredibly softly so it would look believable. In between all the takes it
was fun discreetly joking with some of the actors on the dance floor like
Bill Hurt, who was full of charm and unexpected flattery. Because I was
made to look and sound so different, people were slow to to realize who I
was, so it was nice to eventually discover that many of these New York
actors were familiar with my music.
Watching Matt and Angie give their razor focus with Bob closely monitoring
each shot was fascinating. There was poetry about it all. I felt very
honored to have this bird's eye view of great people creating a medium I
have always loved.
So, in short, this was a dream come true for me. I love movies and I love
when my favorite singers appear in them like Ella, Peggy, Frank and more
recently Dianne Reeves in Good Night, and Good Luck. If brevity is the soul
of wit, I'm glad to contribute a little wit to this mesmerizing drama. Hope
you see it and yell out my name real loud at a Cineplex near you!
Although my Hollywood feature film debut happened on December 22nd, I was
reluctant to write about it here as the holiday season was foremost in
everyone's minds and hearts including my own. Now time has passed and
friends and fans have been writing me every day to share their delight in
catching me up there on the silver screen as the "1961 Deer Island Singer".
Pinch me, but it's true. I'm a movie star!
CD: CHRISTMASTIME IS HERE (Telarc)
Read this review of the Christmas CD
for which Ann recorded "I Wonder As I Wander".
Click here.
IT'S A REALLY 'GOOD SHEPHERD' - Cindy Adams, The New York Post
December 13, 2006 -- LISTEN to me. Pay attention. Some thing I must tell you:
"The Good Shepherd" is possibly the best spy thriller ever made. No mindless soulless ice 'em, slice 'em, dice 'em fast-food chop suey, this film is for chess players, not checkers players. High school dropouts can stick to Daniel Craig's shoot-'n'-shout schlock.
Robert De Niro is a stunning director. The huge cast beginning with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Keir Dullea, Timothy Hutton, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, Alec Baldwin, Tammy Blanchard, John Turturro, Billy Crudup, Ann Hampton Callaway and De Niro himself is threaded through seamlessly...Click here for full review.
SEPTEMBER, 2006:
Born To Be A Lover... The Enchanting Songstress From NYC
JAZZ REVIEW interview by Joe Montague
It was Cyndi Lauper who rode the pop tune "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" in the early eighties, but Chicago born songstress, Ann Hampton Callaway, is one of New York City's bright lights in 2006, and she is the one having all the fun. The lady with the effervescent personality and fabulous vocals often refers to herself as a lover.
"I was just born to be a lover," says Callaway. "I think that sense of love immediately draws people in. I am so glad that I can sing because all of that stuff can come out. I think everyone is a lover. I think music is the most powerful way to refresh that identity of being a lover and getting in touch with your heart. (You can) really feel things and feel safe enough to feel things," she says . . . Click here to read the entire Jazz Review interview.
SEPTEMBER 2006:
Ann was recently interviewed in depth for the November Jazz Column in Rhythm, Art and Groove by Bill Christy.
Ann Hampton Callaway is a jazz vocalist with some pretty impressive credentials. She composes, arranges, plays piano and does the occasional Broadway performance in addition to singing. She also conducts master classes and clinics.
Some of her songs have generated platinum status in sales, and she has toured extensively throughout the world. Her latest release on Telarc, "Blues in the Night," contains jazz, popular standards of earlier times and blues. After listening to her new CD, I had the good fortune to interview her . . .
RAG: One of the first things I noticed was the dexterity you have in your voice. You have a really true command of the vocal technique.
Callaway: Well you know, I've been singing for quite a while, and I love how many ways the voice can express emotion, so I've really spent a lot of time exploring that and sharing it and using it in ways to paint different pictures. Just like an artist will take different colors and different approaches to the paint, I take that sort of artistic approach to the sound of the voice as an instrument. It's not just singing a bunch of words, there are a lot of colors and textures and I love to use the full palette when it comes up. I also was classically trained. I had a lot of technique and I'm the daughter of a voice teacher, so I'm aware of the power and the choices that you have as a singer and I really try to be sensitive to making tasteful and honest choices when I put over a song.
RAG: You can hear it in the way you approach your singing. You even imitate musical instruments I noticed.
Callaway: I do. It's a lot of fun. I've always enjoyed playing with the voice and not just singing . . . Click here to read the entire article.
For Streisand Fans:
barbranews.com - Enjoy this link to the interview Craig Hall did a while back about Ann's relationship with Barbra. Click here.
AUGUST 2006:
Dynamic singer/songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway shares insight and anecdotes about her life in music and performs songs at the piano from her new CD, Blues in the Night.
ArtsPass.com Invites you to Watch an Exclusive Video Interview and Performance
by Ann Hampton Callaway. As a special treat, Ann improvises a song for us live in the studio!
Click here:
Listen to Ann's powerful new anthem on global warming. Click here to listen to "Tomorrow Is Today".
AUGUST 22, 2006:
CELEBRATED SINGER AND SONGWRITER
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY
releases her powerful debut CD on Telarc International
"BLUES IN THE NIGHT"
Featuring Sherrie Maricle and The Diva Jazz Orchestra
and Jazz All-Starts Ted Rosenthal, Christian McBride & Lewis Nash
Arrangements by Tommy Newsom, Matt Catingub, Bill Mays & others.
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY, the multiplatinum-selling songwriter and singer, signed with the Grammy Award winning label Telarc International last year and the result is the thrilling new CD Blues In The Night. Perhaps best known for writing the theme to the TV hit "The Nanny" and songs for Barbra Streisand, Ann has released a successful string of critically-acclaimed albums of standards and originals.
This new recording features performances by Sherrie Maricle and the Diva Jazz Orchestra and arrangements by Tommy Newsom, Johnny Carson's longtime musical director on "The Tonight Show," Matt Catingub, Bill Mays and Ms. Callaway. The CD's 12 tracks will be available on iTunes, in addition to an original love ballad, "You Are You," which Telarc will offer as an internet exclusive. The CD will be online and in stores nationwide on August 22, 2006.
Blues In The Night is a dynamic and stirring collection of American Songbook classics, mixed with potent and witty original songs. The recording contains several jazz standards, but with arrangements and interpretations far from standard. "This is the feistiest, gutsiest, most let-your-hair-down CD I've ever recorded," Ann laughs. "There are quiet and reflective moments and you will also hear me wail. The album expresses the full range of who I am and, of all my recordings, it comes closest to the feel of a live concert."
Ann is excited to be joined by drummer Sherrie Maricle and her all-female Diva Jazz Orchestra. "I have wanted to sing with them ever since I heard their first CD years ago. I was simply knocked out by their talent." They finally joined forces during a very special engagement at Lincoln Center's Women in Jazz Festival last year, which was followed by an extended run at the famous Blue Note jazz club. "Having spent so long as a solo artist, I find a great artistic camaraderie singing with orchestras and big bands," Ann says. "Sherrie has gathered a remarkable group: women with amazing spirit, humor and spontaneity. Musical chemistry is important of course, but so is personal chemistry. It's more than a job for these dedicated players, it's an emotional investment with their music."
"Swinging Away The Blues," the vibrant opening track, perfectly encapsulates the thought behind the entire recording. "My father would sing and scat around the house," Ann remembers "which began my lifelong love for jazz and swing. I want this CD to be a celebration of the power of music to uplift us. We all have to deal with everyday pressures and challenges. Enjoying great music is one of the best ways to get through the hardships of life."
The CD's title track, heard here in an all-stops-out rendition of the Arlen classic, is a fitting centerpiece for the album. Since she first performed it a few years ago in the Broadway musical Swing!, it has become a signature song for Ann and her interpretation has grown and deepened over time. "I grew up with the idea that in music, beauty was essential," she explains, "but I've come to realize that sometimes it's more important to be real then to be beautiful. I have opened up emotionally since I first sang this song. It's as if it unlocked a door in me and I could finally tap into powerful feelings I never knew were there."
Similarly, Ann's driving and intense arrangement of "Blue Moon" - originally created for a special Richard Rodgers centennial tribute - lets her explore colors of her voice and spirit missing from past recordings.
The scintillating medley of two Harold Arlen torch songs, "Stormy Weather" and "When The Sun Comes Out," was arranged by Ann for her to sing in the Broadway musical Swing!, (for her memorable performance in the show, Ann was honored with a Tony Award nomination). The number was cut from that production, but Ann later performed it around the country in duet with Michael Feinstein. The recording on this CD features Ann's sister Liz Callaway, Tony Award nominated Broadway star of Cats, Miss Saigon and Baby.
Ann is pleased to finally record "The I'm-Too-White-To-Sing The-Blues Blues," a comical send-up of her name being confused with her would-be relatives Lionel Hampton and Cab Calloway. "Almost all of my favorite singers are black. I used to ask myself all time: 'why was I born with this skin color?' It's a very common feeling among musicians." This winking nod to her idols like Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan has long been an audience favorite.
"Hip To Be Happy," another number intended for Swing!, was written to reflect Ann's perennial upbeat attitude. "We live in a culture that deifies misery," Ann reflects, "There is a widespread attitude that to be a real artist you need to drink a bottle of scotch every day and destroy yourself. But a positive outlook can be your best friend. This song is my Lambert, Hendricks & Ross-inspired spin on the subject."
"No One Is Alone," the lilting and tender ballad, is Ann's first solo recording of a song by Stephen Sondheim. "I wanted to include something inspiring on the CD," Ann says. "In these increasingly stressful times, we tend to feel more alienated and forget how important it is to connect with each other." In her graceful and delicate reading, Ann reminds us of this with her trademark supple tones.
Because he is renowned for his witty wordplay, Cole Porter is often overlooked as a composer and lyricist of deep passion and strong emotion. Ann brings out the sensuous undertones and deep yearning of "It's All Right With Me," a number usually done with more swagger and at a much faster pace. "To me, this song expresses the pent-up desire to be with someone you just can't be with. I think we've all felt that."
"I feel like I've put my own stamp on these songs," Ann concludes, "and I hope my listeners can find new truth in them. There is nothing like hearing a vintage song that we all know and love, yet feeling like you are hearing it for the first time." Indeed, Ann has accomplished her goal: Blues In The Night - frisky and fun, yet intimate and introspective - truly offers something for everyone.
NEW!! DOWNLOAD "The Nanny" Ringtone! Click here.
