The Lucinda Belle Orchestra - My Voice & 45 Strings

Styles: Vocal And Harp Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:56
Size: 104,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:05) 1. My Voice & 45 Strings
(3:10) 2. Valentine
(4:35) 3. Keep on Looking
(4:02) 4. Northern Lights
(4:08) 5. Dodo Blues
(3:19) 6. I'll Get By
(3:48) 7. Jimmy Choo's
(3:45) 8. Rose Marie and Bobby Mcgee
(3:38) 9. These Broken Things
(3:17) 10. Unlucky in Love
(3:50) 11. Let the Tide Roll In
(3:13) 12. Right Here

The Lucinda Belle Orchestra is the sum of one harp, a harmonium, the melodica, some strings, horns, an upright bass, drums, the ukulele, a clarinet, guitar...and one quite extraordinary songwriter and front-woman. She is Lucinda Belle, and My Voice & 45 Strings is her debut album.

Lucinda Belle’s musical life began aged six, when she was dragged kicking and screaming by her mother to classical recitals at the Royal Festival Hall. Before the album was released she had already appeared on tour and record with the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Rufus Wainwright, Annie Lennox and Missy Elliot, as well as a slot as support to Robbie Williams at the Electric Proms 2009. Yet by day, Belle still owned and occasionally ran the family heirloom: a launderette in Balham, South London. The album was recorded in various locations including Nashville where Lucinda once studied jazz Los Angeles, London, Stockholm and Paris; and includes co-writes from the likes of Graham Lyle ("What’s Love Got To Do With It?") and Ed Harcourt. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Voice-Strings-Lucinda-Belle-Orchestra/dp/B0030BYWW8

Personnel: Backing Vocals – The Pilgrim Jubilees (tracks: 11); Bass – Dave Monsey (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11-12), Karl Odlum (tracks: 2), Robert Rickenberg (tracks: 7), Simon Johnson (tracks: 3, 5, 10); Cello – Amy Langley (tracks: 2, 6, 12), Matthew Sharp (tracks: 7, 10); Cello [Cello Bass] – Adrianne Wininsky (tracks: 2); Clarinet – Dave Shulman (tracks: 8), Oleg Lapidus (tracks: 3, 5, 10); Double Bass – Duncan Thompson (tracks: 8); Drums – Derrick McKenzie (tracks: 3, 5, 10), Duncan Thompson (tracks: 7), Earl Harvin (tracks: 1-2, 4, 6, 9, 11-12); Flute – Oleg Lapidus (tracks: 7); Guitar – David Odlum (tracks: 12), Duncan Thompson (tracks: 8), Simon Johnson (tracks: 1-3, 5-7, 9-12); Harp – Lucinda Belle (tracks: 1-10, 12); Lead Vocals – Lucinda Belle; Melodica – Dave Palmer (tracks: 1); Organ – Dave Palmer (tracks: 1-2, 4); Percussion – David Odlum (tracks: 2, 6,1 1-12); Piano – Ben Robbins (tracks: 3, 5, 7-8, 10), Dave Palmer (tracks: 1-2, 4, 6, 9,1 1-12), Ed Harcourt (tracks: 4); Strings – Dirty Pretty Strings (tracks: 1, 4, 9); Trombone – Harry Brown (tracks: 3, 5, 8, 10); Trumpet – Andy Greenwood (tracks: 3); Ukulele – Duncan Thompson (tracks: 8); Violin – Giles Broadbent (tracks: 8), Helen Greenham (tracks: 7); Vocals – Ed Harcourt (tracks: 2)

My Voice & 45 Strings

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Lucinda Belle - Think Big : Like Me

Styles: Vocal, Harp Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:11
Size: 101,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. Baby Don't Cry
(3:03) 2. Where Have All the Good Men Gone
(3:55) 3. I Believe
(2:06) 4. New Boy
(3:18) 5. Do Me Right
(2:38) 6. Do Your Time
(4:19) 7. My Only Lament
(3:28) 8. I'll Be Loving You
(3:27) 9. Time Won't Wait for You
(2:28) 10. Nothing Left to Do but Smile
(3:27) 11. The Other Side of You
(3:50) 12. Washed up on Love
(3:47) 13. Don't Go Chasing Your Heart

Oscar nominated singer-songwriter Lucinda Belle isn't the first to do what she does, but she may be among the most eclectic; the vocalist/harpist keeps tradition alive by feeding it with myriad influences. Though her vocal style and choice of instrumentation often suggest jazz, she reaches well beyond the idiom while staying true to its roots. Her most recent offering, Think Big: Like Me pulls from jazz, pop, reggae, doo-wop, R&B and hip-hop, among other styles, to create an engaging pastiche that retains Belle's strong compositional voice throughout. The end result is consistently interesting and satisfying, something at once familiar and novel.

Belle's voice is bold, full of personality with, on occasion, an edge, recalling modern songstress Amy Winehouse, but it has a sweetness as well, bringing to mind legends like Peggy Lee and Julie London. Tunes like the single "Baby Don't Cry" have her moving between both worlds in arrangement and performance. "Do Me Right" and "I Believe" are other examples; Belle's voice is full of drive when needed and, often in the upper register of her rich alto, sonorous and masterfully controlled when the moment calls for it.

The album jumps playfully from sparse and antique instrumentation to contemporary production and style, and more often than not the change happens within one song. "New Boy" alternates between voice and harp and a driving rhythm section, almost recalling neo-soul, to create something timeless from the styles of two vastly different times. "My Only Lament" keeps the accompaniment floaty and reminiscent of a classic production from the 1960s, while "I'll Be Loving You" harkens back to the 1950s. Just a few songs later is "The Other Side of You," which sounds like something that may have played on the radio circa 2010.

Belle says emphatically of Think Big, it's "a break up album!!! 'I'll Be Loving You' was my first song on the album,... I wrote it still crying from the break up... and I put 'Don't Go Chasing Your Heart' at the end of the album to represent the transition and realization I'd been through, throughout the process. There's something here for everyone I hope!" Indeed, Belle says it best when she says there is something here for everyone. From melody and harmony to lyrics to production, the album is strong and will benefit from multiple listens.~ Paul Naser https://www.allaboutjazz.com/think-big-like-me-lucinda-belle-self-produced-review-by-paul-naser__18294.php

Personnel: Lucinda Belle: vocal/harp; Esben Tjalve: piano, organ; Sheldon Conrich: acoustic guitar; Rich Hornby: electric guitar; Jay Darwish: double bass; Phil Groysboeck: drums.

Think Big : Like Me

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