LINER NOTES

 

When the world plunges into darkness every night, the only natural light to guide you home is … the moon.  It’s only appropriate then that my CD is entitled MOONLIGHT for, after an extended period of darkness in my life (two separate bouts of neck and tonsil cancer), I have found the light again.  MOONLIGHT has guided me home … to my music.

 

Despite long term side effects, my singing voice was miraculously spared of any permanent radiation damage so it is with unadulterated relief and joy that I find myself one on one again with a studio mike.  MOONLIGHT, which profits from a peerless host of Los Angeles-based jazz musicians, is the final reward for my patience in healing.

 

William Shakespeare said it best..."If music be the food of love, play on!"  Indeed, jazz has been my breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert for well over a decade now, after a lengthier career in musical theatre.  My original idols back then, Gordon MacRae, John Raitt and especially Jack Jones, have since given way to the rhythm-rustling stylings of Mel Tormé, Kurt Elling, Gregory Porter, Sarah Vaughn, Shirley Horn and Sheila Jordan, among so many others.

 

MOONLIGHT is a follow-up to my CD debut UP JUMPED SPRING, a self-produced, pretty much non-promoted 2007 jazz effort.  With a strong team and great product, I have taken a decidedly different path.  An eclectic mix of traditional/modern jazz, American songbook and 60/70s pop reinventions, MOONLIGHT lionizes a wide range of genius – from Irving Berlin, Miles Davis and Tin Pan Alley tunes to the Beatles, Motown and String.  Moreover, it features the rare joint union of father and son pianists Terry and Jamieson Trotter.  Fortune smiled down on me with these two prodigious talents involved.  How could I not be “over the moon”?!!

 

I dedicate MOONLIGHT to the two biggest jazz influences in my life – my mentor, singer/songwriter/teacher Ellen Johnson, and my accompanist of 15 years, Dave Ferris.  Both are cancer survivors and can share with me the significance of this musical juncture.

​

 

 

 

​

 

 

 

 

​

 

THANK YOU’s – Three very special salutes must go to my producer, Barbara Brighton, my friend, music partner and human moonlight, whose faith and vision led me back into the light; my arranger, Jamieson Trotter, who felt my voice from day one and whose unbridled imagination paid off in spades; and my masterful sound engineer, Talley Sherwood, who not only offered brave, tie-breaking decisions between Barbara and me, but egged me on unmercifully with my “Katharine Hepburn sings MOONLIGHT" imitations.

 

In addition to the quicksilver skills and finesse of my musicians (Gabe, Conor, Christian, Pat, Larry, Shep) and guest vocalists (Gail, Paulette), major thanks must go to Terry Trotter for his rare return to the studio and giving this project an added prestige; Holly Cooper, Alan Wexler, Ron Boustead, Marc Saltarelli, Alisa Banks and Lynn Eames for their respective overflow of creative juices; veteran jazzers Mark Winkler and Julie Kelly for lending an ear and offering valuable assistance throughout “the process”; and Reece Holland, my wonderful husband, for his unconditional love, musical talent and, yes, endurance.  Lastly, to my talented Los Angeles-based jazz “family,” thanks for your support and keeping that adrenalin flowing, baby.  You all rock!

​