Toronto, November 26, 2007 ~
“You really should record a live album” is what I have heard now for a few years from friends and colleagues. “But how and when and what if it’s not perfect?” has been my question. “Perfect!” has been their answer.
~
New York has become a second home for me over the past few years and I am filled with excitement every time I sing in that crazy and wonderful city. New Yorkers are unparalleled in their support and enthusiasm for good music and I have been very fortunate to have sung at several great venues there, including the fabulous Metropolitan Room, which is where this CD was recorded.
~
I loved making my two previous albums, The Rules of the Game and Delishious, and learned much about the process of putting together a studio recording. But since the very essence of jazz is one of freedom, spontaneity and “being in the moment”, it made sense to me, at this point in my career, to embark on my first live recording. Though we didn’t plan to turn the evening of October 26th into a live recording, which would have meant using a multi-track recording technique (instead of the one-track recording technique that was used, which doesn’t allow for any “fixes” later on), all the stars shone in our favour that night.
From the piano that had just been tuned the day before, to the great skills of recording engineer Jean-Pierre Perreaux, to all the special people in the audience, and to the fact that all the musicians - myself, pianist Tedd Firth and bassist Steve Watson - were very much in synch and having tremendous fun that night everything seemed like a blessing for this project.
One song that was not a part of this show was my own composition, “Ocean Eyes”; by popular demand, I have included it here as a bonus studio recording.
~
I had called my show “Heart to Heart” and my intention was to musically engage in an open and heart-felt dialogue between singer, song and audience.
So sit back and relax as you are about to listen to as “naked” and truthful a delivery of music as I could have hoped for - joyful and honest.
Adi Braun
Read more...