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About this product
Product Identifiers
Record LabelCD Baby, Cdb
UPC0700261236698
eBay Product ID (ePID)17046059931
Product Key Features
Release Year2008
FormatCD
GenreJazz
ArtistKaren Blixt
Release TitleMad Hope
Dimensions
Item Weight0.13 lb
Additional Product Features
Number of Tracks13
Number of Discs1
TracksBillie's Bounce, Jazz Ants, Antigua, Shadow and Light, Five ; Five (Take Ten), Sundown in My Heart, Time for Earth (Follow Your Heart), Faith Baby Faith, My Blue Shadow, Frida, Desire Is Your Name, 7th Heaven, You Are There
NotesSpring 2008 welcomes the release of Mad Hope by San Francisco based jazz singer, Karen Blixt. Building on her successful 2006 jazz debut, this recording reveals the confidence of an artist in full voice - taking bold strides in odd meters, intricate rhythms and engaging lyrics. Performing for years in jazz clubs in Northern and Southern California, Karen arrived via her debut album "Spin This", acclaimed for it's inventive take on the masters and resoundingly refreshing original compositions, including the surprisingly politically charged anti-Bush title track. Suddenly the former "nice church girl" from upstate New York, who discovered soulful compatriots in the Bay area arts scene, had found her voice a relevant gift to jazz enthusiasts and pop music fans whose appreciation of the form was confined to coffeehouses and art galleries. Two years since her debut, she reflects further on the state of affairs and a deliberate choice to keep faith by returning with Mad Hope, an uplifting collection of 13 tracks, 7 of which are originals and 2 additional instrumentals with new lyrics by Blixt. "On Mad Hope, we wanted to put out some really different material," says Blixt. "Different in the sense of going beyond re-interpreting the great American songbook. That meant writing new material. And beyond that, writing it in a variety of ways, using several odd-meters and different feels, like jazz/funk, latin/world, ballad, and straight ahead jazz. With the dream band we had assembled for the project, we knew the sky was the limit - so we went for it." Working collaboratively once again with Arranger/ Producer Frank Martin (Stevie Wonder, Sting, Patti Austin, Angela Bofill, Al Jarreau, and Dori Caymmi), the pair enlisted the top notch rhythm section of Abraham Laboriel (Bass), Jose Neto (Guitar), Alex Acuña (Percussion), Will Kennedy (Drums), and Patrice Rushen (Piano), along with musicians Randy Brecker (trumpet) Sheldon Brown (Bass Clarinet),Paul Hanson (Bassoon), and Kenny Washington (vocals) the album was recorded over two days in November 2007, at Skywalker Studios in Northern California. To say the team had to make a mad dash to complete the record on schedule is an understatement. "Due to everyone's hectic schedules, we had to be structured to fit in all the work at hand. But I also knew who I was working with and really trusted these musicians-and knew instinctively I was in great hands to pull it off in two days. I was able to focus on the music, rather than all the extraneous stuff." The band of musicians were the chosen ones, the top brass of a wish list Blixt and Martin had drawn up prior to the recording session. With over 100 years of musical experience between them, "great hands" may be the understatement. With Laboriel, the most recorded electric bassist in history driving the rhythm section, and Patrice Rushen, a legendary composer and singer in her own right, Will Kennedy (the Yellowjackets) and Alex Acuna (Weather Report) the Mad Hope session was a dream on fast forward. Approaching the tunes from their own expert angles, the musicians intersected in a magical place, where their individual talents flourished and propelled Karen's vocals in unexpected directions. As with their previous effort, Karen and Frank co-wrote original songs to be recorded alongside a few jazz standards, upping the ante from three original tracks to over half the album at seven. Additionally Blixt wrote lyrics to two existing instrumentals. No longer a novice songwriter, Blixt found the process a great opportunity to explore her own life experiences to create journeys through song. Reflecting upon time spent in Latin America, songs like "Frida" and "Antigua", a homage to the colonial Guatemalan town where her children were born, have a decidedly Latin flare inflected into her distinctive brand of jazz. The other new songs take a playful stance in the old jazz tradition, toying with meter and lyrics as in "Jazz Ants" and "Seventh Heaven"
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