“Who says jazz must be calm, inscrutable, and something to listen to while lying down? This recording takes you on a sonic journey that makes you want to dance alone or with a partner, while remembering her music-loving father and his record collection…..classify this album as “essential.”
Thierry De Clemensat, Bayou Blue News, Paris-Move
"Mix Nina Simone's urgency, Betty Carter's chops and Jill Scott's sass, and you'll get the bold and bravura vocalist Alison Crockett. Simply put, she's the REAL DEAL" Philadelphia Weekly
Acclaimed vocalist and band leader Alison Crockett presents a live recording from Washington DC’s legendary Blues Alley. This initial installment of a series of releases around the theme of “My Father’s Record Collection”, interprets the music which informed, inspired and influenced Alison growing up within sound of her father’s Florida Room speakers. The series reflect on the powerful legacy of Jazz and Black American Music through the records that created the story of America, presenting a journey to the past with more than a hint of the present.
The story begins with Alison Crockett’s music-loving Dad. “The house we lived in had a bar, and next to it were huge speakers hooked up to a large state-of-the-art sound system. Every night in his home-nightclub, my dad would sit after work and play music for up to eight hours each night. This is how I learned music.”
Reinterpreting the classic 1982 album Echoes of an Era, which featured vocalist Chaka Khan, with jazz legends Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson and Lenny White, Alison’s energetic performance, connects the spirit of jazz with the passion of the funky soul singer. Like Khan, Alison is steeped in beyond-jazz vocal forms, including R&B and house music. She released a series of critically acclaimed solo albums throughout the 2000’s, Now Alison is back with a compelling new body of work that portrays her artistry in a different light.
Thad Wilson Trumpet, MD Paul Carr Tenor Sax Todd Simon Piano Dana Hawkins Drums Eliot Seppa Bass.
Produced by Ken Avis & Alison Crockett. Live sound Ken Avis , Mixed & Mastered by Niels Jonken
"Alison Crockett’s artistry has been, to borrow a phrase from Duke Ellington, “Beyond Category,”... an ever-evolving artist, discovering the myriad inventions and dimensions of her artistic truth. Eugene Holley
"Versatile, vivacious songsmith Alison Crockett has chosen the traditional platform of the live recording session...we’re in for a swell ride with Alison Crockett” Willard Jenkins, DC Jazz Festival and WPFW producer
"Alison Crockett is serious!" Soulbeat
www.AlisonCrockett.net
