Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:58
Size: 171,5 MB
Art: Front
(4:38) 1. The Moon Is A Kite
(4:19) 2. Look For The Love
(4:54) 3. Forever And A Day
(5:00) 4. Love And Let Love
(6:12) 5. Information, Please
(4:37) 6. You Can't Rush Spring
(4:33) 7. Finding Beauty
(3:51) 8. Revelation
(4:41) 9. Hold You In This Song
(4:45) 10. Stealin' Away
(4:13) 11. New Eyes
(5:05) 12. At The Same Time
(5:06) 13. Wherever You Are
(3:44) 14. If I Were
(4:18) 15. Be The Light
(3:54) 16. Perfect
LOS ANGELES, CA (August 21, 2023) – Tony-nominated, multiplatinum-selling pop/jazz singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway will release her new album, Finding Beauty, Originals Volume 1, on Sept. 29 via Shanachie Entertainment. Comprised of 16 sumptuous tracks, immaculately produced and arranged by Trey Henry and Paul Viapiano for the Chemistry Set, Finding Beauty is a milestone for Callaway recently inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in that it’s her first album to feature all-original songs.
“This is my most personal record,” Callaway says. “Throughout my career, I’ve loved singing the great jazz classics and selections from the Great American Songbook, but I’ve always snuck my original songs on various projects. The pandemic made me think, ‘I don’t know if I’ll live through this, but if I do, what’s at the top of my bucket list?’ And I realized that I wanted to tell my story and share the deepest part of me. What better way than by sharing and singing songs I’ve written?”
Over the years, Callaway’s compositions have been recorded and performed by some of the biggest names in the business among them, Carole King, Patti Lupone, Liza Minnelli, Karrin Allyson, and Michael Feinstein, to name a few. Barbra Streisand has featured Callaway’s songs on seven albums, including 1997’s No. 1 platinum smash Higher Ground, which featured “At the Same Time.” In addition, Callaway wrote and sang the memorable theme song to the beloved TV series The Nanny.
Finding Beauty took three years to complete, during which Callaway, Henry, and Viapiano combed through the singer’s vast catalog of material, stretching from 1986 to the present. “It was a true collaboration,” Callaway says. “Some songs were ones that Trey and Paul really wanted to work on, and I trusted their instincts. Most of all, I wanted a cohesive statement that would share my stories of love, from my first to my last.”
Select tracks on Finding Beauty see Callaway singing alongside a number of notable guests – superstar Melissa Manchester, nine-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton, Grammy-winning jazz legend Kurt Elling, celebrated pop and R&B singer Niki Haris, Grammy-nominated singer Jarrett Johnson, and Callaway’s frequent musical partner (and real-life sister), the Tony-nominated and Emmy-winning Liz Callaway. “I’ve recorded CDs with my sister, of course, but this was my first time recording with the other artists,” Callaway says. “It was thrilling to explore these songs together.”
Before Streisand recorded “At the Same Time,” the song was featured in the 1987 world peace event The Harmonic Convergence. Callaway once performed the number herself a capella for former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev. For Finding Beauty, she and Henry tried different iterations before arriving at a haunting and intimate arrangement, with muted military drums, on which Callaway’s passionate vocals shine. “I wanted to evoke a feeling of urgency while the war continues on,” she notes.
The gorgeous smooth pop/R&B “Love and Let Love” is another gem. Callaway and film/TV composer Michele Brourman wrote the song as a pride/human rights anthem, which Callaway has long sung as a stirring ballad. Henry reimagined it as a more upbeat and funky cut, which surprised and delighted Callaway. “It was incredible jamming on it with Kurt Elling,” she says. “We created a happening. I could envision singing it for thousands of people, with everybody embracing how we’re all different and we’re all supposed to be who we are.”
On an album brimming with standouts, there’s the fun and frisky “Stealin’ Away,” co-written with Tony-nominated composer Dan Levine. An unabashed ode to romantic love and passion, the song was penned for Al Jarreau, who sadly passed before he could record it. With her smoldering, sultry performance, Callaway transports the listener to a private place of sensuality and warmth. Callaway’s “You Can’t Rush Spring” has been covered by numerous artists over the years, including Ann herself on her 1994 album Bring Back Romance, and here she duets with Tierney Sutton on a gripping, beautifully atmospheric version on which their two voices blend magically. “I love the cinematic mood that Trey created,” Callaway enthuses. “Singing with Tierney was extraordinary. We think like flutes and cellos when we blend our voices together. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the record.”
The lush, bossa nova-tinged “Forever and a Day” gently works its way into the thicket of your senses and doesn’t let go. Written with Alan Bergman, the song fulfills a long-held dream of Callaway to collaborate with the iconic, multi-Oscar-winning composer. “That’s what I call a friendship,” she says, “where I can have the audacity to say, ‘Would you like to write a song? Here’s a melody.’”
Callaway champions the musicians who contributed to Finding Beauty – she’s worked with pianist Christian Jacob and drummer Ray Brinker since the ‘90s, but this marks her first time recording with pianist Josh Nelson. Working with producer-arrangers Henry and Viapiano was, at times, “a leap of faith” in that she relinquished her go-to “this is how the songs should go” and put her trust in their vision. “But it’s an experience that I cherish,” she says. “Their instincts were always right on the money.”
And as the full title suggests, fans can expect a sequel. “There will be another album,” Callaway says. “This isn’t ‘we should do more of this.’ We definitely will.”
Starting August 25 in Minneapolis, the Broadway World Entertainer of the Year will hit the road for an international tour that stretches into the Spring of 2024. At select dates, Callaway will celebrate the release of her new album with a show called Finding Beauty: Inspired Classics and Originals.
https://www.annhamptoncallaway.com/news.html
Finding Beauty, Originals, Vol. 1
