Overview

### Product Description
I sing because I must. I am compelled from within - the force sometimes ebbing...often flowing...the rhythm of it all out of my hands. I follow where it leads; it is an essential part of my being. Those are the words of singer extraordinaire Cheryl Barnes. She has been a fixture on the stages of Southern California for years, and among industry veterans she is considered a singer's singer. Cheryl has spent the past five years working on Listen to This, her newest and greatest album, and one that features both her sense of melody and her talent as a song stylist. From the hippest of contemporary flaire like Come With Me and What s On Your Mind to choice standards such as I Wish You Love (dedicated to the memory of Gloria Lynne) and Why Did I Choose You (inspired by Barbra Streisand s rendition), Cheryl brings a singular warmth and empathy to every line she sings, engaging listeners from a purr to a power belt.
### Review
Barnes is like a rare archaeological find a legendary artist whose reputation precedes her and now, is suddenly discovered. Actually, the artist herself has been active in the jazz performance space for years, giving hundreds of shows around the world with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, J.J. Johnson, and Quincy Jones. However, unless you were lucky to have caught one of her live performances, her album arrives with a startlingly but altogether pleasurable surprise. While principally a jazz vocalist, she was classically trained in music (since the age of 9) and is adept at pop, classical, Gospel and Latin sounds. She also is a much sought-after vocal clinician, who conducts workshops and classes across the country. Did I mention she s fluent in four languages? The point here is that this is a very smart woman who uses her intellect to enhance her vocal prowess. Even when she is deeply emotive, she is a singer at all times in control of her voice. She punctuated her set at the Rockwell with a mix of songs from the album that showcased her versatility from the upbeat party vibe of the title track Listen To This to the poignant ballad about a veteran jazz singer with an extraordinary life in Afternoon In Harlem and to the heartfelt Baby s Got Some Awful Kind of Blues. Missing from the set, but on the new album, was her amazing reinterpretation of Joni Mitchell s Come In From The Cold. The album was produced by music industry veteran Rahn Coleman, recorded at Mystic Knight Recording Studios in Los Angeles and features a stellar list of sidemen including Brandon Fields on sax, John Hammond on piano, and Rickey Minor on bass with orchestration by John Beasley. Her set at Rockwell was orchestrated expertly by her husband, arranger and keyboardist Phillip Cabasso. In an interview prior to her Rockwell gig, she cited as her musical influences Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Peggy Lee and Nancy Wilson. By the time that I was a teenager, I pretty much could imitate any voice. To find my own voice, I had to stop listening to vocalists and focus instead on instrumentalists, she said. Two other musical influences in her career must be mentioned. My grandmother was a singer and had a naturally, beautiful, magnificent voice, and she encouraged me to study music, she says. The other is Linda Hopkins, the legendary jazz, blues and r&b singer. She confesses to thinking of Hopkins when she recorded for the album An Afternoon in Harlem, written by her friends Mark Winkler and Marilyn Harris. I know Linda Hopkins fairly well, and she reminds me of the elegant, confident, older women with beautiful homes and clothes that were party of my upbringing in Cleveland (Ohio). Linda still has an incredible energy and love for music, which she shows by encouraging and supporting younger artists, she says. So, what took Barnes so along to come in from the cold and enter the studio to record Listen To This ? In a word, life. After years of touring and working with a multitude of artists, I ve decided now was the time to focus my energies on my own CD. It s been a long time in the making and I m very proud of both the music and the breadth of the songs and musicians on this album, she says. But she also confesses her own obsession with being technically perfect might have stymied her from recording more. Six years ago I decided that I must make an album so that I could leave a legacy to share with fans and other artists. But I had to learn not to over analyze my music, and throw my inhibitions under the table, she says. In fact, in the coming years, she says she looks forward to doing new things with jazz, possibly on another album. We re poised and ready when she does. --Greg Ptacek - Monsters and Critics

Cheryl Barnes tells us what she wants us to do with her single word album title. --Straight No Chaser Cheryl Barnes tells us what she wants us to do with her single word album title, but her staid album cover (hands clasped, semi serious facial expression) hardly prepares us for the wild ride. Those listening to the singer s glorious voice and surfing the wave of eclectic emotion as she dips and weaves from bluesy, swinging jazz ( Like Jazz ) to sparse eloquent ballads ( Why Did I Choose You, Baby s Got Some Awful Kind of Blues ) and dazzling, colorful big band vibes ( Listen To This, penned by her husband Phillip Cabasso) may wonder where she s been all their lives. And the answer is: out there, performing in various settings throughout the world, which apparently didn t give her time to hit the studio and set her unique brand of heartfelt expression and joyful whimsy to disc. She s done shows with Quincy Jones, Wynton Marsalis, J.J. Johnson, Billy Mitchell and Cathy Segal-Garcia. Brought her 16 years of operatic training to featured solo spotlights with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra and the Lawrence University Orchestra in Wisconsin. Branching out from her home base in Los Angeles, Barnes has also toured South America, worked extensively as a vocal clinician and is a founding member of the Jazz Vocal Coalition. Her resume and creativity demand deeper thought for a debut than simply mining the Great American Songbook so she starts the CD mining gold from the catalog of fellow L.A. vocalist Mark Winkler ( Like Jazz and the playful story song Afternoon in Harlem ) and continues with unique choices like the wistful Come With Me, the eloquent I Wish You Love (partially sung in French) and an expansive, jazzy meditation on Joni Mitchell s Come In From The Cold. Among the L.A. elite helping Barnes bring the magic at last to the studio are Brandon Fields (sax), John Hammond (piano), Rickey Minor (bass) and John Beasley (orchestrations). --Jazz Monthly A lot of CDs cross my desk, and an unusually large number of female vocalists. While some stand out, most are fairly generic treatments of the Great American Songbook. Enjoyable, but not really worth repeated listening. And then I heard Cheryl Barnes. For several decades, Cheryl s versatility has encompassed many musical genres. Singing in four different languages, Cheryl has performed around the world (including shows with Wynton Marsalis, J.J. Johnson, Quincy Jones and a guest member spot with the Clara Ward Gospel Singers), and has recorded with the likes of Azar Lawrence, Billy Mitchell and Cathy Segal- Garcia. Her sixteen years of Operatic training have brought her to the stage as a featured soloist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra and The Lawrence University Orchestra in Wisconsin, and she has toured extensively throughout South America, nurturing her love for Samba, Bossa Nova, Salsa and the riches of Latin and Afro-Cuban Music. After all that singing, it might come as a surprise that Listen to This is her recording debut. Backed by a strong band featuring Brandon Fields on sax, John Hammond on piano, and Rickey Minor on bass, she has chosen songs that could serve as a series of musical souvenirs from the many places her career has taken her. . From original jazz tunes like Afternoon in Harlem ; to reinterpretations of pop tunes by Joni Mitchell ( Come in From the Cold ); to gospel-influenced and classical material ( When I Am Laid in Earth ) there is no shortage of great material. Add in orchestration by John Beasley and this is a wonderful listen Podcast 411 is my conversation with Cheryl about the making of the CD, her choice of songs, and how she sings such a wide variety of styles. Musical selections include her cpver of Joni Mitchell's "Come in from the Cold"; "Afternoon in Harlem" and "Listen to This". --Straight No Chaser