Produced by Matt Pierson,
CD Features Inspired, Personal Renditions of
Classic and Contemporary Songs
With All-Star Band
CD Features Inspired, Personal Renditions of
Classic and Contemporary Songs
With All-Star Band
March 13, 2012
At its core, jazz is a music of personal expression, a concept that singer Sara Leib clearly embraces. On her new CD, Secret Love
-- due out March 20 on OA2 Records -- the glowing-toned mezzo-soprano
gives an array of classic and contemporary material fresh, distinctive
sounds.
One way that Los
Angeles native Leib gives a new slant to her repertoire is to render
some tunes in unusual time signatures. Cole Porter's "Night and Day" switches from 6/4 to 5/4 every eight bars, while Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might as Well Be Spring"
has one bar of 6/4, then one of 5/4. Sammy Fain and Paul Francis
Webster's title track alternates between 7/4 and 4/4. (Each was
originally written in 4/4.)
Some songs are slightly reworked, with "So This Is Love," Al Hoffman's waltz for the Disney classic film Cinderella, done as a samba, and Ann Ronell's evergreen blues ballad, "Willow Weep for Me," given a boisterous funk arrangement.
The CD also contains more straightforward readings, like Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love," Ben Harper's "With My Own Two Hands," and the ballad, "The Way You Behold," written by Jonathan Richards with lyrics by Leib.
Leib arranged all the
songs save the title track, which was conceived by two friends from her
undergrad days at the New England Conservatory of Music: pianist Jed
Wilson and vocalist Heather Masse, now a member of the Wailin' Jennys.
"I never really set
out to go, 'I'm gonna make this more complex,'" Leib says of the CD's
direction. "I started to think that if I'm gonna do a song, I should do
it in a way that's a little bit original. I don't think the idea
necessarily is to make something more complex, but to come up with some
sort of theme or some way that I think might reflect the meaning of the
lyrics in a different way, either more true, less true, more sarcastic,
reinterpreted."
A crew of top young jazz musicians plays on Secret Love, which was overseen by veteran producer Matt Pierson and which was recorded in New York City. The participants include pianists Taylor Eigsti and Aaron Parks, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Eric Harland; tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens appears on four tracks, hand percussionist Richie Barshay
on five. Throughout, the musicians deliver poised accompaniment and
offer provocative solos. "I was really lucky that they all said yes,"
notes Leib.
"Based on her previous
recording and word of mouth from other musicians, I knew that Sara
clearly had talent," says producer Pierson. "However, I wasn't prepared
for what happened once we got into the studio. She just blew me away
with her infectious spirit, pure musicianship, and incredibly deep sense
of swing. But what really set her apart was her ability to integrate
herself into the band, going toe-to-toe with some of the greatest
instrumentalists on the jazz scene today."
Sara Leib
was born in Los Angeles December 21, 1981; her father was a furniture
designer, her mother a social worker. Her older brother played trumpet;
years later, she mimicked the instrument's tone during wordless choruses
on her first CD, 2003's self-released and warmly received It's Not the Moon.
Leib attended L.A.'s
prestigious Hamilton Music Academy, where she sang in the jazz choir
and also gained a berth in the Grammy High School Jazz Choir. After two
years at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, she transferred to the
New England Conservatory, studying with Dominique Eade, Steve Lacy, and
Jerry Bergonzi and earning a B.M. in Jazz Performance, followed by an
M.M. in Jazz from the University of Southern California. She has
performed throughout the world, and currently teaches at the Los Angeles
Music Academy College of Music in Pasadena. Leib also gives private
voice lessons and teaches classes in improvisation, singing for
instrumentalists, and chart writing.
Web Sites:
www.saraleib.com
www.singingtv.com
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The making of Secret Love.
Media Contact:Terri Hinte
510-234-8781
hudba@sbcglobal.net
www.terrihinte.com
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