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Soulful Storyteller NICA CARRINGTON Releases debut

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    Posted: 27 Sep 2022 at 12:34pm
 

 

SOULFUL STORYTELLER NICA CARRINGTON

RELEASES DEBUT

FEATURING JOHN PROULX, CHUCK BERGHOFER, and

JOE LaBARBERA

TIMES LIKE THESE

OUT SEPTEMBER 23, 2022  

Times Like These by Nica Carrington

 

It took a worldwide epidemic to make vocalist NICA CARRINGTON fully realize that tomorrow is not promised to anyone. Although she has been singing and studying voice since she was a young child, her shyness made her feel more comfortable singing in choirs surrounded by others rather than stepping into the spotlight as a solo performer. But now with the release of her debut album, TIMES LIKE THESE, audiences will get to appreciate her smokey, warm voice and soulful interpretations of great American standards.

 

Carrington, a native New Yorker, heard jazz around the house when she was growing up. Her father was a jazz enthusiast who worked on the promotional side of the music business, but he also played several instruments. “My dad had a lot of musician friends who would often drop by our house, and jams could break out at any time.” says Carrington. She listened to her father’s vast record collection and was particularly drawn to musicians she considered more lyrical, like Chet Baker, Miles, and Wes Montgomery. She also listened to the great jazz singers, but she was especially drawn to Frank Sinatra. Carrington relates, “I fell in love with Sinatra when I was 10 years old. I really liked his album Only the Lonely and would drive my sister crazy by playing the title song over and over again. I loved his phrasing and ability to tell a story without vocal acrobatics. I didn’t realize until fairly recently how much of Sinatra’s style that I internalized.”

 

Carrington had been taking voice lessons, but in the midst of the Covid lockdown, when teachers stopped giving lessons in person, she discovered JazzVoice.com, an online resource that offers private lessons, classes, and videos. It was there that she discovered JOHN PROULX, the Los Angeles-based popular singer, pianist, composer, and recording artist. He is also an in-demand jazz voice, piano, and arranging instructor who became enamored by Carrington’s vocal skills. Carrington says, “The pandemic was a wakeup call for me. There were so many people that were here one day and gone the next. It made me wonder what they left unsaid and what was left undone. I realized that I did have something to say, and it was time for me to record my music. John is a wonderful teacher. He’s so supportive and encouraging, so I took a chance and asked him if he would work with me on an album. It turned out to be a great move.”

 

Proulx came on board as Carrington’s pianist, arranger, and producer. He brought along two of the brightest stars in the jazz firmament, bassist CHUCK BERGHOFER and drummer JOE LABARBERA. Berghofer is a studio musician who has worked on more than 400 movie soundtracks. He has worked with some of the top names in music including Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Frank Rosolino, and Frank Sinatra, among others. LaBarbera has an equally impressive list of credits. Besides accompanying Bill Evans in his last years, LaBarbera was also in the Chuck Mangione Quartet and worked with Jim Hall, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Gary Burton, Art Pepper, John Scofield, Bob Brookmeyer, and Toots Thielemans, to name just a few.

 

For her debut album, Carrington chose songs from the Great American Songbook that she learned about from her father’s record collection. Says Carrington, “I’ve always admired the composers and lyricists of the great standards. Their songs are timeless and I wanted to stay true to them, but I also wanted to present them with my own more contemporary style. The album is also an homage to my father. He passed away a couple of years ago, but his influence on me is indelible, and I needed to channel my feelings through music.”

 

Many artists recorded remotely during the pandemic, but it was important for Carrington to interact with the musicians in person. So, with the pandemic still raging, Carrington donned a mask and flew from New York City to Los Angeles to record the album. Proulx and Carrington began the project by choosing the songs that would work best with her voice and wound up with ten tunes about love, loss, and the joy of just being alive. 

 

Included on the album are “Skylark,” “When Sunny Gets Blue,” “Every Time We Say Goodbye,” “We’ll Be Together Again,” “The Summer Knows,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Angel Eyes,” “The Shadow of Your Smile,” and “Here’s to Life.” The one outlier on the playlist is the obscure song, “Left Alone,” written by Mal Waldron and Billie Holiday, who always intended to record the song, but claimed, “I always forget the damned sheet music.”

 

Proulx, Berghofer, and LaBarbera are seasoned musicians who are superb accompanists and stars in their own right. They know how to swing and be supportive without stepping in front of the vocals. Nica Carrington is an exciting new voice on the national jazz scene. While this is Carrington’s debut recording, her personality shines through, and she sings with the assuredness and vocal savvy that elevates TIMES LIKE THESE from being merely another recording of great American standards to an eloquent personal statement sung with a very contemporary edge.

 

# # #

 

TIMES LIKE THESE is set for release on September 23, 2022 and will be available everywhere.

 

 

Online: 

Nicacarrington.com

Facebook.com/nicacarrington

IG: @nica_carrington

 

 

Mouthpiece Music | www.mouthpiecemusic.com, www.facebook.com/MouthpieceMusic, Burbank, CA 91506

 



Edited by snobb - 27 Sep 2022 at 12:44pm
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