The emotive melodies from the movies "Legends of the Fall" and "On Golden Pond," as well as Ashokan Farewell, the haunting tune from Ken Burns' documentary, "The Civil War," lend themselves well to our instrumentation.
In our two pop tunes from the 1970s, Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Your Song" and Gerry Beckley's "Daisy Jane," we try to convey the words of each song through instrumental inflections. One tune is an attempt to capture the essence of a blossoming relationship, while the other is a song of the lost love of an innocent summer romance.
Tangos originally were danced by two men, so why not have an instrumental version recorded by three women? Here is our own arrangement of Piazzola's "Libertango."
"Wildcat" was composed and performed by violinist Joe Venuti and guitarist Eddie Lang, two Italian immigrants in the Philadelphia jazz community during the 1920s. Ten years later, Hungarian-born Emery Deutsch's "When a Gypsy Makes His Violin Cry" became the signature song for his band's sweet style of swing.
Suzanne Ciani and Liz Story are two American pianist-composers who create current, mellow landscapes. We arranged "Velocity of Love" and "Church of Trees," adding sustained string parts to create lush versions of these two piano pieces.
Jazz pianist-arranger Marcus Roberts' updated arrangement of "Summertime" is an ode to George Gershwin's great contribution to American music.
Although "Gypsy Rondo" and "Slavonic Dance" both are classical compositions, they invoke a range of emotional responses that resonate with a broader audience, and so seem fitting to be part of this project.
The CROWN TRIO was formed in 2000 by three Orange County musicians - MARI HAIG (violin), KAREN LINKLETTER (cello), and BETH NAKAO (piano). They had played in the same orchestras and chamber groups in the free-lance world, and they joined forces as a trio to explore their more creative sides. In addition to playing the standard piano trio repertoire, the Crown Trio also arranges music for their instruments, creating a totally unique and versatile musical product.
Here are some fun facts about the members of the Crown Trio:
Mari, Karen, and Beth have performed with Pacific Symphony, Opera Pacific, Long Beach Symphony, Long Beach Opera, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, American Jazz Symphonies, the Pasadena Symphony, Musica Angelica, Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay, Long Beach Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, and the Laguna Playhouse.
They have toured and performed all over the United States, as well as in China, Ireland, Switzerland, England, and Austria.
They have shared the stage with such talents as Henry Mancini, Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, John Tesh, Mannheim Steamroller, Sarah Vaughan, Jose Feliciano, Smokey Robinson, Juan Gabriel, Susan Egan, Glen Campbell, Roger Williams, Buddy Rich, and Michael Crawford.
You can hear the members of the Crown Trio (in addition to on this CD) on movie soundtracks, commercials, and on many other CD projects.
All three are all members of Phi Beta Kappa. They have five and a half college degrees between them, including Bachelors of Performance, an MBA, a Music History Master of Arts, and a pending Doctorate in American History.
Each member of the trio feels strongly about passing on their passion for music to the next generation. They each have over 25 private students, plus they teach in the classroom at the Orange County High School of the Arts.
The Crown Trio musicians have other talents as well - quilting, acting, scrapbooking, cross-stitching, cooking, nature photography, drawing cartoon animals, weight lifting, and shopping!
COLORWAVE was recorded, mixed, and mastered by the great HANK LINDERMAN.
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