Stirred to Be Still

STIRRED TO BE STILL is the third release by Laura Ann Singh and Chris Lucas. The previous CD's, WHENEVER I AM AFRAID, and GIFTS OF JOY AND LONGING are also offered on cdbaby. Chris Lucas began playing guitar at age 11, after 5 years of piano study. He later received two music degrees from Va. Commonwealth University, including a Masters in Composition. Now retired from The Richmond Times Dispatch, nearly all of his time is now devoted to local music, as a songwriter, performer, arranger, and accompanist, both at his church, and in the community at large, as well as up and down the East Coast. Chris has a long list of internationally known artists that he has opened concerts for, among them Phil Keaggy, Pierce Pettis, Ashley Cleveland, Andrew Peterson, and Leo Kottke. He is also the composer of The Three Penny Cantata, a Lenten/Easter song cycle which he and Laura Ann Singh perform yearly at local churches. In 2008 he was awarded a Momentum Award as Acoustic Artist of the Year by Indieheaven, a Nashville organization devoted to Christian independent artists. He also received a Momentum Award in 2009 as Instrumentalist of the Year. Although now living in San Francisco, Laura Ann Singh was the worship leader at Eternity Church in Richmond, Va. She was also very involved in the local jazz scene, performing with pianist Tommy Witten, as well as the bossa nova quartet, Quatro Na Bossa. QNB has toured extensively up and down the East Coast at many musical venues including annual appearances at Dizzy's Club at Lincoln Center. She currently also performs with Mirimar, an ensemble devoted to Puerto Rican boleros. They are currently supporting one of the highest charting world music albums in the nation. After growing up in Kingsport, Tennessee, Laura Ann received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Italian from the Univ. of Richmond. She then studied with sambista master Fabiana Cozza in Brazil in 2006, with emphasis on bossa nova, and the Portuguese language, which she speaks fluently. She has worked with a variety of internationally known artists in this field. Her band, Quatro Na Bossa has recorded two CD projects. She has also performed with Carnegie Hall Jazz Band leader Jon Faddis, and bebop trombonist Curtis Fuller. Laura Ann continues to sing from the American standards songbook at local venues and private functions.