Laura Dickinson 17 - Auld Lang Syne (November 2018)

LAURA DICKINSON 17 RELEASES BIG BAND HOLIDAY ALBUM AULD LANG SYNE

AVAILABLE ON MUSIC & MIRROR RECORDS

LAURA DICKINSON is a Grammy®-winning music producer, vocal contractor, studio singer and multi-instrumentalist whose voice is heard daily on television, in movies and commercials. Her newest album, AULD LANG SYNE, is a program of songs centered on the holiday season. The record features lush big band arrangements by some of the top names in the music firmament, along with her big band full of Los Angeles’ first-call studio instrumentalists.

One of the busiest music professionals in Southern California, Dickinson’s stunning voice has been featured in Ralph Breaks The Internet, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, American Horror Story, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, War for The Planet of The Apes, Sing, the Pitch Perfect franchise, A Christmas Story Live, Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton’s Say Something music video, and Paul McCartney’s 2018 release, Egypt Station. She’s sung on commercials for KFC, Maybelline, Target, and Priceline (“Priceline Negotiator!”) as well as hit shows Modern Family, Son of Zorn, and Supernatural. But she’s perhaps most well known for her work as vocal director and vocal contractor for Disney TV Animation, which has earned her an Emmy® award, millions of views on YouTube, and worldwide acclaim for Disney Channel's animated hits Phineas and Ferb, Jake and The Never Land Pirates, and Sofia The First. Dickinson is also the principal vocalist and vocal contractor for The Pageant of the Masters, the elaborate art and music festival held every year in Laguna Beach, California.

Laura has been Michael Bublé's vocal contractor since 2015. She contracted and directed a gospel choir for his 2016 release Nobody But Me, which was nominated for a Grammy® in the Traditional Pop category. Laura’s voice is also featured on the first track, I Believe In You. Upcoming and current projects include contracting Mr. Bublé’s promotional tour for his November 2018 release entitled love, The Christmas Chronicles with Kurt Russell, vocal contracting Englebert Humperdinck’s 2018 Christmas album, along with her recurring roles and vocal contracting responsibilities on Elena Of Avalor, Milo Murphy’s Law, and The Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening’s Disenchantment.

In 2017, Laura won three Grammy® awards for her work as a music producer on the Ted Nash Big Band: Presidential Suite album and vocal contractor on Summertime: Willie Nelson sings Gershwin.

Dickinson grew up on the border of Los Angeles and Orange County, California in a household filled with music. Her father was a musician who founded revival group Buffalo Springfield Again with original members Dewey Martin and Bruce Palmer, while her mother was a classical pianist who also sang and played guitar. Dickinson studied classical piano from a very young age and credits her successful career and ability to move effortlessly between diverse musical styles today with the disparate musical influences of her youth.

AULD LANG SYNE is Dickinson’s sophomore outing. Her first project, One For My Baby – To Frank Sinatra With Love, was released in 2014 to glowing reviews. All About Jazz said of the album, “Dickinson brings to the task a pitch-perfect voice, clear articulation, impeccable timing, a healthy respect for a lyric and a supporting cast comprised of many of the Los Angeles area's foremost jazz musicians, with arrangements by a Who's Who of dependable craftsmen.” JazzTimes said “One for My Baby is more than a mere tribute. It is both a musical biography and an autobiography... What we heard from Sinatra — the breathing, pacing, control — is heard on this album but they are not applied in the same way. She has taken Sinatra’s palette and his brushes but she paints a different picture. It is a self-portrait of someone extraordinary and lovely." Rather than just celebrating the Christmas holiday with AULD LANG SYNE, the album is a loving tribute to a time of year when people sincerely open their hearts to family and friends counting their blessings, while reflecting on the year gone by.

The project features arrangements by JAMES A. MCMILLEN, JOHNNY MANDEL, BRENT FISCHER, LARRY BLANK, BILL LISTON, ALAN STEINBERGER, ANDREW SYNOWIEC, and Dickinson herself.

Besides being the producer, contractor, and leading her own 17-piece big band, Dickinson brought onboard a 24-voice SAG-AFTRA choir including her vocal contractor colleagues Jasper Randall, Bobbi Page, and Sally Stevens. She’s also featuring her instrumentalists, with solos by bass trombonist STEVE TRAPANI, a busy studio musician who also performs with several orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony; trumpet player KYE PALMER, a studio musician and a former member of The Tonight Show Band who has recorded on several Grammy®-winning projects; and Grammy®-winning guitarist ANDREW SYNOWIEC, a multi-faceted studio musician who has countless film and television credits in addition to recording for artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Rob Zombie.

Dickinson culled songs for AULD LANG SYNE from holiday movie classics like “Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season” and “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me,” to songs like “Christmas Is Starting Now” and “Peace and Joy” from Phineas and Ferb and Sofia The First, two of the Disney Channel shows she is best known for. Other perennial hits like “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” get a Baden Powell meets Earth, Wind and Fire treatment from Grammy®-winner Brent Fischer, and a New Orleans party in James A. McMillen's “Let it Snow!” Dickinson even covers the Mariah Carey tune “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” with Bill Liston’s new arrangement concept featuring her lush string ensemble.

Laura Dickinson is a dynamo of musical talent who is well known to music industry insiders. Now with the release of AULD LANG SYNE, her second self-produced album, she is well on the way to a stellar solo career.

AULD LANG SYNE is available on Amazon, iTunes and everywhere online.

Jocelyn Michelle - Live at Viva Cantina (CHICKEN COUP RECORDS 2018)

HAMMOND B3 PLAYER JOCELYN MICHELLE RELEASES LIVE AT VIVA CANTINA ON TONY MONACO’S CHICKEN COUP RECORDS

Organist JOCELYN MICHELLE’s newest CD, LIVE AT VIVA CANTINA (Chicken Coup Records, June 8, 2018), is a toe tapping, festive project of serious music that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Although she’s lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for several years, she decided to record this CD back in Los Angeles, her old stomping ground, where she and her husband, guitarist JOHN RACK, lived and worked for many years. Viva Cantina is a Mexican restaurant and music performance venue with two stages in Burbank. It has the kind of party atmosphere that Jocelyn thought would be a good fit for a live performance with her band. 

LIVE AT VIVA CANTINA is a follow-up to Jocelyn’s acclaimed debut CD, TIME TO PLAY. She recorded both CDs for Tony Monaco’s Chicken Coup Records. Monaco is a highly respected organist and teacher whom Jocelyn studied with for several years before inviting her to record for his label. Chicken Coup Records, a subsidiary of Summit Records, features some of the finest B3 players around today.  

Jocelyn arranged all the tunes on this project and brought on board players based in Hawaii and Los Angeles. The Hawaiian component of her band includes sax player BILL NOBLE, trumpet player ANDREA LINDBORG, and her husband JOHN RACK. The L.A.-based contingent includes STEVE MANN on sax, TONY FARRELL on trumpet, drummer SAMMY K, and AL PERSON on percussion.

Jocelyn is also a top-notch composer, and the CD includes four of her compositions, including “Englewood Cliffs,” “Oh No, Could I Be in Love,” “A Sister’s Love,” and “Sylvia’s Song.” Those four tunes also appeared on TIME TO PLAY, but as with any great jazz band in live performance, their spontaneity creates a brand-new experience of the music.  

“Englewood Cliffs” is an homage to the soul jazz sound from the late 1960’s and Rudy van Gelder, who recorded some of the most the most important albums in the history of jazz. His studios were in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Jocelyn also wrote the lyrics to “Oh No, Could I Be in Love,” sung on this disc by acclaimed vocalist LAURA DICKINSON, whose lilting voice is heard on animation features on the Disney Channel. Dickinson also sings on Jobim’s “One Note Samba,” a song Jocelyn and the band play frequently back in Hawaii.

Jocelyn and the band perform two other songs that appeared on the previous studio album as well, “The Pink Panther Theme,” and “Last Tango in Paris.” Jocelyn, who was inspired by Jack McDuff’s version of “The Pink Panther,” arranged the tune for sax and trumpet, giving it an ultra-hip treatment. “Last Tango in Paris” is Gato Barbieri’s sexy composition from the eponymous movie. Jocelyn adds a funky groove to the piece but keeps its sensual mood.  

The band keeps the seductive ambience going with “The Look of Love,” the 1967 Burt Bacharach/Hal David song. Jocelyn was particularly inspired by guitarist Bob DeVos’ rendition of the tune. 

Jocelyn opens the CD with a swinging version of Carl Perkins’ “Groove Yard,” made famous by the Montgomery Brothers on their 1961 release. “Groovin” is the Young Rascals hit from 1967. Jocelyn arranged it with a relaxed, funky groove.  

LIVE AT VIVA CANTINA is the kind of music you put on to get the party going. Jocelyn is adept at different musical styles, honing her chops on the club circuits on the East and West coasts and Hawaii. LIVE AT VIVA CANTINA captures the energy, spontaneity, and fun of Jocelyn Michelle’s live performances.

1. GROOVE YARD (7:43)

2. ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS (10:24)

3. GROOVIN’ (5:32)

4. LAST TANGO IN PARIS (7:36)

5. THE LOOK OF LOVE (6:38)

6. OH NO, COULD I BE IN LOVE (5:15)

7. ONE NOTE SAMBA (6:05)

8. THE PINK PANTHER THEME (6:25)

9. A SISTER’S LOVE (5:51)

10. SYLVIA’S SONG  (7:51) 

JOCEYLYN MICHELLE  organ

JACK RACK  guitar

BILL NOBLE  alto & tenor sax 

STEVE MANN alto & tenor sax

ANDREA LINDBORG trumpet

TONY FARRELL trumpet

SAMMY K drums & percussion

AL PERSON percussion

LAURA DICKINSON vocals 

Arranged by Jocelyn Michelle Produced by Tony Monaco

About Jocelyn Michelle

Jocelyn Michelle was born in Florida but raised in New Jersey. Her parents were both musical, her mother was a semi-professional pianist and opera singer, and her father played some trumpet. Jocelyn began piano lessons when she was just 7 years old when her parents discovered that she could already play melodies by ear. She eventually gravitated to guitar and played rock in her teens. She went to the University of Miami School of Music as a Music Merchandising Major for a while and returned to the keyboards when she left school.  

She had been playing on the club circuit in the Miami area when she met her husband, John Rack, who had his own musical project. Jocelyn joined his band as a keyboard player, and the two went on to become both musical and life partners. They eventually released three CDs together. The couple moved to Los Angeles where they lived for many years, performing with their re-constituted blues band. In 2013, they took a trip to Hawaii, fell in love with the Big Island, and in short order, made Hawaii their permanent home where they play jazz and blues and make occasional trips to the mainland to perform.