Album Notes

Singer/songwriter Erica Gimpel’s live debut CD serenades you with her warm voice, expressive piano playing, and instrumentations, beckoning you on a journey of life moments…

“Night Sky" is for those moments of "poignant silence", seeking self-discovery.
"You Never Said Good-bye" is for those moments of heartache and trying to heal.
"Can It Be" is for those moments of witnessing something phenomenal.
"This Moment" is for those moments of finding love.
"Wherever the Road Leads" is for those moments of needing to battle self-doubt, and second-guessing.
"Why" is for those moments of when you just can't understand "why" someone has done something adverse.
"Love Will Come Back to Me" is for those moments of needing to believe that indeed love will come back.
"Spread Your Wings" is for those moments of needing a rallying cry to get up and do something impactful.
"The Love You've Given Me" is for those moments when we as adults have to just stop and think about what our parents/guardians have done for us and the support they've given over the years that have brought us to this point.
"Rising" is for the moments of feeling down about the world, about yourself and still calling forth a rallying cry of inspiration to RISE.
"Joyce's Serenade" is for those moments of quiet reflection....


Erica’s Reflections on Spread Your Wings and Fly ~

“I had the great good fortune of sitting down with one of Jazz’s great trumpeter/ composers Terrance Blanchard during his break between sets at a club here in Los Angeles, I spoke with him about my deep desire of finally “doing my music” and he said, “Why are you waiting for someone to give you permission? Do your music”… His simple yet direct words inspired me to take action and begin my first steps on the journey of making this recording.

It all starts with the music… I have been very fortunate to know and work with another jazz great Louis Van Taylor (master woodwind player) who introduced me to the dynamic Ryan Cross (bass/cellist) and within months of working together a unique sound began to emerge from our trio, as we continued to play together and interpret my songs, a rapport was created that brought the songs to life in a very organic way. We then added Cristiano Novelli (drummer/percussionist) whose rhythms contributed a wonderful energy and grounding, then topped it off with the beauty and grace of violinist Alma Cielo.

Out of this core group I became clear it was time to do my recording and started looking for the right producer who was going to help me “make it happen”, until I finally realized it was time for me to “make it happen”. A dear friend John Meeks, introduced me to a wonderful gentlemen, Jeff Payne, who believes in artists giving our talents to benefit the community, and if you are invited to do a benefit concert in his space he records it for free… I felt I had to pursue this opportunity… I am a practicing Buddhist of 24 years and during one of my morning chants I had a vision…
I saw myself doing my benefit concert during the month of March, which is International Women’s Month, and this concert would be in honor of the Downtown Women’s Center of Los Angeles, an organization who for the past 30 years has been dedicated to helping homeless women get back on their feet… I made the calls, everyone agreed, and the concert and recording was set in motion.

This is how SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY was born… out of the organic process of the music finding it’s expression (wings)… to sharing the music as a gift in honor of women who are regaining their strength to stand on their own once again…

May we all have the courage to spread our glorious wings and encourage each other to rise up and FLY!”







Live Sound Mix and Recording ~ Jeff Payne, assisted by Mike Sandoval
Edited, Mixed and Mastered ~ Paul Tavenner of Big City Recording
Background vocals ~ John Meeks, Lisa Vidal and Cortney Wright
Keyboard/Wurlitzer/ B3 ~ Dennis Hamm
Keyboard/Wurlitzer ~ Charles Floyd
All Music and Lyrics by Erica Gimpel
Womans Paradise Music (ASCAP)