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Christy Baron

Christy redefines “classics,” it’s entirely appropriate that she was signed by Chesky Records, an audiophile label that redefines the modern recording process by returning to the earliest recording techniques. Chesky works with artists who are not only great musicians, but who also must be able to stand up to a unique recording process.

Take This Journey was recorded live to two-track over a three-day period at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. “On a Chesky recording, one doesn’t have the standard modern-day options,” Christy says. “If you make a mistake, you don’t go back to fix it. There’s no punching in vocals, no overdubs, no compression or EQ.”

In approaching Take This Journey, Christy teamed with renowned bassist David Finck, who’s worked with Natalie Cole, Paquito D’Rivera, Rosemary Clooney, Ivan Lins, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Andre Previn, and Peter Cincotti. Finck not only played the bass, but also wrote songs, handled the arrangements, and produced the CD.

“In selecting material, the most important element of a song, for me, is my ability to connect with it emotionally,” Christy says. “The songs I choose need to be able to sustain a jazz treatment, but first and foremost, I have to respect the composer’s and the lyricist’s intention within my interpretation.” Take This Journey includes material by some of Christy’s favorite artists: Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Steven Sondheim, as well as David Finck.

Christy grew up in a musical family – her mother is a pianist and music teacher who recognized Christy’s abilities early on. She sang with her brothers and sisters – six in all – merging their voices. (She now finds herself more influenced by instrumentalists than vocalists, a result of finding her own voice after her early years of trying to merely blend in.) Her parents listened to the pop music of their time, the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin – music that became standards, and instilled in Christy a reverence for the music of the times, be it music of the 40’s, the 60’s, or the 80’s. By the time she was 16, Christy was performing almost nightly in a club — she was underage, but with the help of her mother, she managed the necessary maneuvers. Her mother had recognized the significance of singing for Christy – as a child, she’d suffered petit mal seizures, seizures that fully abated when she sang. It was inevitable that Christy would pursue a life in the arts, and when she enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, she studied not only music, but also dance and drama. She’s worked as an actress in film, television, and on the stage, (she landed a role in Les Miserables on Broadway, but left when her desire to sing her music overtook her.) And if the words “Wonderful use of iambic pentameter…wameter” sound familiar, it’s because Christy delivered them in her portrayal of a frazzled, baby-talking mommy in a now legendary commercial for Visa. When asked about her two seemingly diverse careers, Christy responds, “I approach both types of performances in a very similar way.” In fact, she likens acting with an ensemble to singing with a band. “The way actors play off each other influences each and every performance – so performances differ every night. You have to really listen to each other and react accordingly... listening makes you a better actor. It’s the same thing when working with a band – You surround yourself with great musicians... really listen... and it makes you a better singer... and because of these ever-varying conversations between artists, each song sounds unique each time we perform it.”

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200
Album Review

Christy Baron: Bingo

Read "Bingo" reviewed by Jim Santella


They're the songs we grew up with.

No, not the ones from AM or FM radio or from our earliest record, tape, and CD collections. These are the songs that we learned in our first years at school, at summer camp, and with neighborhood friends at play. Christy Baron sings each selection the way we remember it. In case you've forgotten the words, the lyrics are included in the liner booklet.

Along with these straightforward vocals, ...

175
Album Review

Christy Baron: Take This Journey

Read "Take This Journey" reviewed by Mike Perciaccante


All too often jazz singers think that "covering" popular music means singing old Broadway hits from the '20s, '30s and '40s. Sure, these songs were popular once -- and many of them may even still be popular today, however the "truly" popular music genres of today (as evidenced by the Billboard chart listings) are rock and R&B songs released during the past 30 to 40 years. Christy Baron demonstrates on Take This Journey, her third album for Chesky Records, that ...

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"There's a quality to Baron's singing, an unfiltered honesty that's as refreshing as an early morning snowfall and fulfilling as a heartfelt compliment... Baron lays bare each lyric, exploring the soft folds of ‘Not While I'm Around', the self-delusional satisfaction of ‘The Lies Of Handsome Men', and the crushing despair of ‘A House Is Not A Home' with unilateral finesse." —JazzTimes Magazine "Over 15,000 jazz fans were treated to the debut of singer Christy Baron. Christy and her first rate band presented a great set of standards and new material highlighted by her dynamic vocals and great swinging arrangements." —Festival Productions, Playboy Jazz Festival "...A soulful and insightful interpreter of both standards and more recent songs." —LA Jazz Scene "Our knees turned to butter after a couple of tracks on "Take This Journey"..

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Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Bingo

Soundbrush Records
2005

buy

Take This Journey

Chesky Records
2003

buy

Steppin'

Chesky Records
2000

buy

I Thought About You

Chesky Records
1997

buy

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