Brenda Russell
With a voice that caresses like melted caramel and lyrics that touch the deepest recesses of your emotions, singer/songwriter Brenda Russell proves that a glowing talent only deepens with time. Her current Hidden Beach Recordings CD, Paris Rain, represents a welcome artistic brilliance that has dawned once again on a musical horizon clouded with sound-alike artists and retread grooves. And those fans of her earliest recordings--as well as recent converts who have heard the beauty of the current project—are celebrating Brenda’s return to the marketplace with her first studio album in seven years.
Paris Rain has garnered stellar reviews and new attention for one of pop music’s most lyrical and creative artists. To celebrate the ongoing success of the album and its creator, Hidden Beach is releasing an enhanced-CD version of Paris Rain, featuring interview segments, artwork, and other exclusive material about the fabulous Brenda Russell. This exquisitely crafted album is an elegant journey of mood, melody, memory, and, of course, some of the most evocative, intelligent lyrics ever set to music. Author of such gems as "Piano In The Dark," "If Only For One Night," and the much-loved anthem "Get Here," Brenda Russell continues to exercise her miraculous powers of inspirational songcraft as well as her richly nuanced voice on the new "Paris Rain," a glorious listening experience that will satisfy the expectations of longtime Russell fans and enchant new listeners.
In the year since the album has been released, Brenda has continued to exercise her considerable gifts in a variety of projects. Her co-composition with Brazilian artist Ivan Lins, titled "She Walks This Earth," was recorded by international superstar Sting for the all-star tribute album Love Affair: The Music Of Ivan Lins. Sting’s inspired performance of the uniquely beautiful song earned him a 2000 Grammy Award for best pop male vocal performance. Says Brenda, "My two favorite artists are Sting and Ivan Lins, so it worked out well. A lot of people love that song, and it makes me happy. I had two days to write the lyric! The producer called me and said Sting didn’t have time to do it, and I did it and it was very exciting. I knew it was like a do-or-die situation, either you kick butt right now or just go home, you know?"
She made her annual appearance on the Dave Koz & Friends holiday tour with the smooth jazz sax star, and has recorded with Koz for the forthcoming holiday album of the same name, due December 2001; she also toured during the summer of 2001, including making an appearance at this year’s Essence Music Festival in July. "It was fantastic," Brenda enthused about that New Orleans performance. "It was a great crowd, and the whole audience--the first time it ever happened to me-- the whole audience sang 'Get Here' with me from top to bottom, full tilt. It was amazing."
Brenda’s music is appreciated by fellow artists, who call on her formidable talent for penning lyrics again and again. She collaborated with Stevie Wonder on a tune called "Justice Of The Heart," which Stevie sings in the upcoming Denzel Washington movie John Q. And she performs a duet with contemporary bluesman Keb’ Mo’ on his current children’s album, titled "Big Wide Grin." Their song, "I Am Your Mother Too," bears a very special message for adopted children. And singer Will Downing will benefit from Brenda’s songcraft with one of her co-compositions, "Don’t You Talk To Me Like That" (co-written with Vinx and Mark Cawley), on his forthcoming album. And just to keep things fun, Brenda has written incidental music for the animated series "Fat Girl" on the Oxygen Network, as well as an animated internet short series titled "Driving While Black" for urbanentertainment.com. And when former MTV veejay Ananda Lewis bows her syndicated talk show this fall, it will be Brenda’s music opening every show. All of this activity is enhanced by the June 2001 release of yet another CD compilation of her best-known tunes.
Which puts the focus squarely back on Paris Rain, a multi-layered work by a mature artist. As one of few artists who have successfully been able to incorporate a wide range of musical influences--rock, pop, R&B, jazz, classical, Latin--into a distinct style that defies categorization while attracting fans around the world, Brenda Russell's music endures through time and trends. Crafted in conjunction with her longtime production collaborator Stephan Oberhoff, "Paris Rain" is another treasure in this unique trove. With guest appearances by saxophonists Kirk Whalum and Dave Koz, Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip and pianist Russell Ferranted, keyboardists Greg Phillinganes and Brenda's musical director Bill Sharpe, the glorious set finds Brenda traversing the globe, lyrically and stylistically, offering a series of melodic photographs, moments snapped in Paris, Rio de Janeiro, New York, on a rainswept street, at a jazz cafe, inside a human soul.
The Tracks are:
I Want Love To Find Me
It´s Something
Hello People
Two Eyes
Stay Close
Jarreau
New York Bars
I´ll See You Again
Look Down Youn Soldier
Musicians on the Two Eyes album: Brenda Russell, L. Leon pendarvis, Larry Williams, James Newton Howard, Bill LaBounty, Nathan East, John Robinson, David Williams, Robbie Buchanan, Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Kim Hutchcroft, Bill Reichenbach, David Foster, Michael McDonald, Jeff Porcaro, Paulinho DaCosta, Don Grusin, Dean Parks, Stevie Wonder, Pattie Brooks, Rita Coolidge, Randy Crawford, Christopher Cross, Jpe Espositp, Donny Gerrard, James Ingram, Julie Inouye, Al Jarreau, David Lasley, Maureen McDonald, Petsey Powell, Caleb Quaye, Patrice Rushen, Cinnamon Sharpe, Kathy Walker, Leon Ware and others.
Available from Warner Bros./Original release year: 1983
