Karen Francis - Where Is Love ?

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:40
Size: 143,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:23)  1. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
(6:03)  2. The End Of A Love Affair
(5:33)  3. Sweet Pumpkin
(5:52)  4. Willow Weep For Me
(5:23)  5. Let's Go Where The Grass Is Greener
(5:01)  6. Where Is Love ?
(5:13)  7. He Never Mentioned Love
(3:43)  8. Triste
(7:09)  9. Polkadots And Moonbeams
(5:09) 10. May I Come In?
(6:04) 11. On A Clear Day

A promising young singer, Karen Francis made her recording debut on this set in 1996. She is particularly rewarding on ballads such as the opening two numbers ("I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry" and "The End Of A Love Affair") and "May I Come In" where her voice is quite expressive and she does justice to the lyrics. Francis is not as strong on the more medium-tempo material (her voice is sometimes a little erratic) although she does a fine job on the closing "On A Clear Day" and contributed the haunting "He Never Mentioned Love." This set is worth checking out; one hopes that there will be much more from Karen Francis. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/where-is-love-mw0000084593

Personnel: Karen Francis (vocals); George Colligan (piano); James King (bass); Aaron Walker (drums).

Where Is Love ?

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Karen Francis - Little Sunflower

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:21
Size: 161.0 MB
Styles: Standards, Vocal
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[8:50] 1. The Great City
[5:51] 2. Here's That Rainy Day
[3:34] 3. I Could Have Danced All Night
[7:36] 4. Brown Skin Gal
[6:07] 5. Love Yourself
[8:57] 6. Little Sunflower
[7:54] 7. Learn From Your Mistakes
[9:00] 8. Dindi
[7:01] 9. You Go To My Head
[5:26] 10. Man, That Was A Dream (Monk's Dream)

In the summer of 1994 in Washington D.C., jazz vocalist Karen Francis was discovered by world renown jazz master (pianist, composer, record label executive, producer, and professor) Stanley Cowell. Cowell, one of jazz music's most talented architects who, with Charles Tolliver in 1971, established and launched Strata-East Records, was hosting a party in his home one evening when he had occasion to be introduced to Francis by one of his students - William Knowles. A significant turn of events during the course of the evening revealed that Karen was a singer and Cowell invited her to sit in with him at an impromptu jam session. They played two duets together - Round Midnight and Lush Life. Once Cowell heard her sing, he knew that this was a voice that would go places and decided to record her. After becoming acquainted with her, Cowell discovered that Francis was relatively new to singing, but not so new to music, as she had played several instruments while in high school in Augusta, Georgia and at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

A few short weeks after his discovery of this extraordinary talent, Cowell gave Francis her first professional recording opportunity and introduction to the international jazz community through an invitation to be a featured artist on a coming project “Mandara Blossoms”. Overwhelmed, nervous, and honored, Karen accepted and in October of ’94, her first efforts as a featured recording artist were committed to history on record in the SteepleChase Records catalogue. This recording featured Cowell on piano, tenor saxophonist Billy Pierce, and drummer Ralph Peterson. Notably, SteepleChase alumni include monumental luminaries such as Ben Webster, Bud Powell, Shirley Horn, Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie - to name a few. On this roster an awed Francis founds herself in stellar company. Four weeks after the project with Cowell had been recorded, SteepleChase called on Francis to record as a leader. This was an industry nod in light of the fact that SteepleChase's roster of vocalists numbers a very select few.

Little Sunflower

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