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DreamLand

Libby York

DreamLand

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: OA2 Records
UPC: 0805552220827
Catnr: OA2 22208
Release date: 02 June 2023
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Label
OA2 Records
UPC
0805552220827
Catalogue number
OA2 22208
Release date
02 June 2023
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

The Johnny Mercer classic “Hit the Road To Dreamland” evoked the state of mind for singer Libby York and so many performers as stages in 2020 long went dark, but ultimately gifting the thrill of revival two years later. Dedication to the music and craft has flourished since, along with the connection to audiences and the music itself. DreamLand was born from that landscape and York's chance encounter with guitarist Randy Napoleon, who was accompanying Freddie Cole at Chicago's Jazz Showcase. Randy’s playing and warm enthusiastic manner set the stage for their gathering in the studio in Fall 2021 for this intimate set of songs, each pure, classic, compositional gems in themselves.
Der Johnny Mercer-Klassiker "Hit the Road To Dreamland" beschwor den Gemütszustand der Sängerin Libby York und so vieler Interpreten herauf, als die Bühnen im Jahr 2020 lange Zeit dunkel waren, aber schließlich zwei Jahre später wieder zum Leben erweckt wurden. Die Hingabe an die Musik und das Handwerk hat sich seitdem weiterentwickelt, ebenso wie die Verbindung zum Publikum und die Musik selbst. DreamLand entstand aus dieser Landschaft und Yorks zufälliger Begegnung mit dem Gitarristen Randy Napoleon, der Freddie Cole bei Chicagos Jazz Showcase begleitete. Randys Spiel und seine warme, enthusiastische Art bereiteten den Boden für ihr Zusammentreffen im Studio im Herbst 2021 für diese intime Zusammenstellung von Songs, die jeder für sich reine, klassische, kompositorische Perlen sind.

Artist(s)

Libby York (vocals)

Although York has been performing since 1980, her recording career did not come about overnight. Her early influences include singer/guitarist Frank D’Rone and the great June Christy’s Something Cool album. She left Chicago in the early 70s to major in political science at American University in Washington, DC and opened a restaurant, The Back Porch Cafe in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1974, which is still thriving. She spent most of the 80s and early 90s in New York where she was featured vocalist with Swing Street, an eight-piece big band, and was coached by the great Abbey Lincoln. She currently spends her time in Chicago, New York, Paris, and Key West. In 1999, her debut album Blue Gardenia was released on the...
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Although York has been performing since 1980, her recording career did not come about overnight. Her early influences include singer/guitarist Frank D’Rone and the great June Christy’s Something Cool album. She left Chicago in the early 70s to major in political science at American University in Washington, DC and opened a restaurant, The Back Porch Cafe in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in 1974, which is still thriving. She spent most of the 80s and early 90s in New York where she was featured vocalist with Swing Street, an eight-piece big band, and was coached by the great Abbey Lincoln. She currently spends her time in Chicago, New York, Paris, and Key West.
In 1999, her debut album Blue Gardenia was released on the Southport label. This was followed in 2004 by her breakthrough recording Sunday in New York, a Blujazz release that boasted Renee Rosnes on piano and Count Basie alumni Frank Wess on tenor sax. The album received an abundance of rave reviews including 4 stars in DownBeat magazine. In JazzTimes, Christopher Loudon described Sunday in New York as “a delectable all-standards program” and praised York’s “tremendous Anita O’Day appeal” as well as her “bravura dexterity.” Jazz Review‘s John Gilbert called York “a master vocalist with a deep well of talent at her disposal,” and in All About Jazz, Dr. Judith Schlesinger asserted: “York is relaxed, subtle, and infinitely tender, especially on the ballads… you can hear the smile in her voice.” Sunday in New York's liner notes were by the renowned Chicago-based jazz critic and radio personality, Neil Tesser, who wrote: “York finds the complicated emotional center of a lyric and sets it out with disarming simplicity.” Libby’s recording career demonstrates that she is a storyteller, singer, bandleader, record producer and label owner. “Sometimes,” York asserts, “being both the producer and the vocalist is very challenging, to say the least, but I like overseeing the sound, how we present these classic American Songbook gems. The music, and the audience, deserve no less.”
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Composer(s)

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was one of the most iconic American composers and conductors of the 20th century, and was among the first American musicians who gained worldwide recognition. He actually made his breakthrough as a conductor by chance, when he suddenly had to stand in for the ailing Bruno Walter for a concert by the New York Philharmonic in 1943. The concert, which was broadcast live on radio, received critical acclaim from the press. Bernstein would soon become a sought-after guest conductor. From 1958 till 1969, Bernstein was principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, with which he performed amongst others the complete symphonies of Mahler, which sparked a renewed interest in the music of the Austrian composer in the United States. He...
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Leonard Bernstein was one of the most iconic American composers and conductors of the 20th century, and was among the first American musicians who gained worldwide recognition.
He actually made his breakthrough as a conductor by chance, when he suddenly had to stand in for the ailing Bruno Walter for a concert by the New York Philharmonic in 1943. The concert, which was broadcast live on radio, received critical acclaim from the press. Bernstein would soon become a sought-after guest conductor.
From 1958 till 1969, Bernstein was principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic, with which he performed amongst others the complete symphonies of Mahler, which sparked a renewed interest in the music of the Austrian composer in the United States. He was also an advocate of the music of American composers, in particular that of his close friend Aaron Copland. Bernstein recorded nearly all of his orchestral works, and paid much attention to his music in his popular television series Young People’s Concerts, in which he introduced a young audience to classical music.
As a composer, Bernstein is primarily known for his accessible theatre works such as Wonderful Town, Candide and The West Side Story, which still is his most popular work. He also composed three symphonies and several shorter chamber works. In his music he fused elements of Jewish music, theatre music and jazz with those of composers like Copland, Stravinsky and Gershwin.

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