[ Genres: Jazz / Soul / R&B ]
On her stunning sophomore album, Tracey Whitney pays joyful homage to a diverse mix of musicians who have inspired her own singing and songwriting. Rounded out by three original tracks, I Am Singing…Songs I Love features the Los Angeles/Albuquerque-based singer’s stirring renditions of classic yet lesser-covered songs by artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Franks, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. At turns breezy and beautifully moving, the follow-up to 2007’s much-acclaimed Love…A Fable in 9 Acts serves up more of the silky Jazz-Soul fusion that’s become the trademark for this former child singing sensation and backup vocalist for the legendary Ray Charles.
[ Sounds Like: Sade, Jill Scott, Anita Baker, Roberta Flack, Diana Krall ]
… continued below …
“I’d Be Lying (I Miss You)” by Tracey Whitney rated on a 5 Star Rating Scale
Founder (Music Producer & Publisher) Rating:
Composition: 5/5 Arrangement: 5/5 Performance: 4/5 Production: 5/5 Hit Potential: 3/5
The latest release from Tracey’s own BabyDoll Entertainment and Records, I Am Singing…Songs I Love first began taking shape in the midst of a reignited infatuation with “Eli’s Coming” (a Three Dog Night hit authored by Laura Nyro). “I couldn’t get ‘Eli’s Coming’ out of my head, so I ended up heading into the studio and recording my own version to get it out of my system—but then we just kept going,” recalls Whitney. Working with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Herman “Hollywood” Dawkins, Tracey went on to lay down seven more covers and several original songs that elegantly flaunt her tightly honed harmonic sense.
Though I Am Singing…Songs I Love marks only her second solo album, Whitney’s musical history stretches all the way back to age 11. At the famed Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Tracey made her debut as part of The Whitney Family (a singing ensemble that included her mother and seven brothers and sisters). Over the next decade, The Whitney Family toured the world and recorded two albums (including “Let Me Be Your Woman,” a Billboard top singles pick). Tracey struck out on her own at age 22, becoming a hit nightclub act in Los Angeles and Tokyo before landing her role as a Raelette in Charles’s 1991 tour of the United States. “After singing with Ray Charles in a five-part-harmony structure, my brain can no longer hear anything in fewer than five parts,” she notes, adding that Charles greatly deepened her understanding of melody.
But while Whitney’s extraordinary career has played a key role in shaping the smooth sound heard throughout I Am Singing…Songs I Love, her pop instincts, soulful sensibility, and irresistibly natural ease behind the microphone are all essential to the album. Whether re-imagining Garth Brooks’ Beatles-esque country pastiche “Wrapped Up In You” as a soaring, scat-laced celebration of love or giving a sweet nod to the Jackson 5 by joining her brother (and fellow former Whitney Family singer) Glynn Whitney on an update of Michael Jackson’s jazzy “I Can’t Help It,” Tracey pairs her dynamic vocals with refined arrangements to glorious effect. On her original numbers, meanwhile, Whitney introduces innovative elements that let her own singular style shine through: “Heartbreak 2011,” for instance, combines a quietly powerful beat and aching lyrics (“I lost my chance at heaven”) with a heart rending spoken-word intro and outro.
No matter if she’s delivering an original song or a cover, Tracey infuses her songs with a slick sophistication that’s uncommon in today’s musical landscape. “It’s lovely if younger people enjoy my music, but I’m really singing for adults, and telling real stories about real situations,” says Whitney. “What I hope is for people to hear my songs and connect with them on a very emotional level—and ultimately get a sense of calm and joy from that.”
Ray Charles didn’t need to meet singer Tracey Whitney to know she was his ideal back-up vocalist. Called to audition for The Genius of Soul’s backing group, The Raelettes, Tracey left her demo behind when Charles couldn’t make their meeting. Later that afternoon, his management phoned to say she’d landed the gig. “Ray just listened to my tracks and said, ‘She’s got it,'” Tracey recalls. “Four days later, I was onstage singing with him at the Hollywood Bowl.”
Luckily, Tracey – a sultry singer, prolific songwriter and passionate performer who, in the style of yesteryear, delivers R&B, Pop, and Jazz vocal stylings equally – was no stranger to the stage. Her musical history stretches all the way back to age 11. At the famed Coconut Grove in Los Angeles, Tracey made her debut as part of The Whitney Family (a singing ensemble that included her mother and seven brothers and sisters). Over the next 15 years, The Whitney Family toured the world and recorded albums (their 1977 “Airways” LP included Let Me Be Your Woman, a Billboard magazine top singles pick), and made guest appearances on numerous TV shows, most notably Burt Sugarman’s The Midnight Special. “My parents were both singers, and all eight of their kids came out singing,” she says. By the age of twenty-two she set her sights on a solo career, becoming a hit nightclub act in Los Angeles before landing her role as a Raelette in Charles’ 1991 tour of the United States. “My mother Louise was an amazing vocal arranger – and she really took advantage of having 8 of us to work with. Combine that with singing in Ray Charles’ four-part-harmony structure, and the end result is that when I arrange my own music, my brain doesn’t hear anything in fewer than five parts,” she notes, adding that Charles greatly deepened her understanding of melody. In 1995, she won a featured spot on Barrymore in Hollywood, British TV show host Michael Barrymore’s American special. She also did session work for various bands (most notably the Heavy Metal super-group, W.A.S.P. featuring Blackie Lawless). From late 1995-2000 she lived in Japan, a highly sought-after solo performer in various nightclubs and hotels in Tokyo, Yokohama and Tokushima. During this period, she also did session work or performed in concert with Japanese superstars Sing Like Talking, Namie Amuro and Tokiko Kato.
In 2007 under the banner of her independent record label, BabyDoll Entertainment, Tracey released her first solo album, Love…A Fable in 9 Acts to critical acclaim: SOUL BAG, Levallois-Perret: “Tracey is in a long line of vocalists who reinterpret soul music in the classic style, while others in her genre can sound out of place.”
On her stunning sophomore album, Whitney pays joyful homage to a diverse mix of musicians who have inspired her own singing and songwriting. Rounded out by three original tracks, 2012’s I Am Singing…Songs I Love features the singer’s stirring renditions of classic yet lesser-covered songs by artists like Stevie Wonder, Michael Franks, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. At turns breezy and beautifully moving, the follow-up to 2007’s much-acclaimed Love…A Fable in 9 Acts serves up more of the silky Jazz-Soul fusion that’s become the trademark for this former child singing sensation.
Working with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Herman “Hollywood” Dawkins, Tracey went on to lay down seven more covers and several original songs that elegantly flaunt her tightly honed harmonic sense. While Whitney’s extraordinary career has played a key role in shaping the smooth sound heard throughout I Am Singing…, her pop instincts, soulful sensibility, and irresistibly natural ease behind the microphone are all essential to the album. Whether re-imagining Garth Brooks’ Beatles-esque country pastiche Wrapped Up In You as a soaring, scat-laced celebration of love or giving a sweet nod to The Jackson 5 by joining her brother (and fellow former Whitney Family singer) Glynn Whitney on an update of Michael Jackson’s jazzy I Can’t Help It, Tracey pairs her dynamic vocals with refined arrangements to glorious effect. On her original numbers, meanwhile, Whitney introduces innovative elements that let her own singular style shine through: Heartbreak 2011, for instance, combines a quietly powerful beat and aching lyrics (“I lost my chance at heaven”) with a heart rending spoken-word intro and outro… No matter if she’s delivering an original song or a cover, Tracey infuses her songs with a slick sophistication that’s uncommon in today’s musical landscape. “It’s lovely if younger people enjoy my music, but I’m really singing for adults, and telling real stories about real situations,” says Whitney. “What I hope is for people to hear my songs and connect with them on a very emotional level – and ultimately get a sense of calm and joy from that.” ~ Elizabeth Barker
Whitney relocated from Los Angeles to Albuquerque in 2012 to pursue a lifelong dream of opening her own club, BabyDoll’s House of Jazz & Blues, and (much to her delight) found the “Land of Enchantment” to be a jazz haven, where she remains in constant demand in venues such as Vernon’s Black Diamond Lounge, The Santa Ana Star Casino, The Hyatt Tamaya, Isleta Casino’s Embers Steakhouse (in fact, she’s featured with Calvin Appleberry in the Embers’ TV commercial and website), Pappadeaux and the Hotel Andaluz. A certified vocal instructor (children and adolescents), she is looking forward to holding jazz and blues appreciation and performance workshops for gifted teens in the near future. In January 2014, she was elected secretary/treasurer for Local 618 of the American Federation of Musicians, and, as if that weren’t enough, Tracey is also a contributing writer/music critic for Smooth Jazz magazine.
As her former boss Ray Charles put it, “I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts…It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.” Indeed…
[ Review provided by artist. ]
Follow Tracey Whitney on the web & these social networks
Reverbnation – www.BabydollEntertainment.com – Myspace – Twitter @SingItPretty”
