On a Turquoise Cloud

My debut album, On a Turquoise Cloud, is a collection of Ellington’s rare songs featuring the distinctive sound of soprano voice in jazz. These songs, some obscure for decades, are both a joy and a privilege to perform. I spent a significant part of 2014 researching at the Duke Ellington archive of the Smithsonian and with other sources in order to find them. Seeking out these songs was my destiny, and it has been a grand journey so far. I am a professional singer in both classical and jazz genres. I was engaged to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2013, and during the production of Wynton Marsalis’s Abyssinian Mass, I met two-time GRAMMY©-winning drummer and producer, Ulysses Owens Jr. At the time, he posed the very question then rattling in my own head: “What’s next for you?" We discussed our work respectively, and I mentioned that I had heard some fascinating Ellington recordings of songs for soprano voice, at the time just three or four of them, something great for a recital. In time, I would identify over thirty Ellington soprano songs. With glee, Ulysses replied, “That's not just a concert idea. That is a concept album I would love to produce, and it is going to open doors for you.” I signed on right away. On a Turquoise Cloud is the title track of my album. The soprano voice is exposed and alluring, floating atop the full sound of the big band. Ellington named this song for Kay Davis’s velvety timbre, and the entire title describes what her voice does, ascending as a kite on the horizon. In these songs, Ellington’s use of the soprano voice is luxurious, womanly, and bold. The female Ellingtonians who originated these songs - Adelaide Hall, Kay Davis, and Alice Babs – sang virtuosically, and I honor them. Making the album, I collaborated with 10 world-class jazz musicians who found such inspiration as they explored these songs, as arrangers and in the studio. I sang for each of them, and they tailored the arrangements to my personal sound and statement. Our brilliant band made our recording day one of my most fulfilling days ever. On a Turquoise Cloud ranges nearly a century, from the 1920’s, to our own contemporary interpretation, and the stories we tell in these songs are vividly detailed and contrasting. Our trip to a Turquoise Cloud is something I am bursting to share. Undoubtedly, this album is a rebirth of me.