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Gaby Moreno

Gaby Moreno’s new album, Illustrated Songs, continues her love affair with the sounds of the blues, soul and jazz that captivated her as a girl. Although she was born and raised in Guatemala, it was the sounds of the American South that inspired her to become a songwriter and recording artist. “I heard an African American woman singing on the street in New York City when I was younger. I just froze. When I asked her what she called that music, she looked at me and said, ‘That’s the blues, honey.’”

As Moreno devoured albums by Robert Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald, she discovered an affinity for the vintage African American sounds of the 20s, 30s and 40s. She combined them with the sound of the Latin music she loved from the same era to create the 12 tunes on Illustrated Songs. Her affection for old fashion music is even reflected in the record’s title.

“The illustrated song is a type of visual art from the vaudeville era of the 20s,” Moreno explains. “You could consider it an early kind of video. They’d project still images from glass slides on a screen and have live musicians playing to accompany the pictures. Since this album was inspired by the music of the 20s and 30s, the title went well with the mood of the record. Every song is in its own little world.”

Moreno co-produced Illustrated Songs with engineer Ryan Freeland (Aimee Mann, Grant-Lee Phillips, Ray LaMontagne). The album was cut live, in four days, with her regular rhythm section; Sebastian Aymanns on drums, bassist Leslie Lowe and Moreno herself on guitar, complimented by a string, horn and woodwind section arranged and conducted by Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann, Grant-Lee Phillips) as well as guest musicians Patrick Warren, Larry Goldings, Greg Leisz, Bob Mintzer, David Piltch and Mark Goldenberg.

Illustrated Songs includes tunes in Spanish and English. Moreno’s supple vocals are both soulful and elegant, casting an inviting spell that’s midway between innocence and experience. The album opens with “Intento,” a meditation on love’s uncertainty set to a laid back, vaguely Latin pop rhythm. Patrick Warren’s serene piano compliments Moreno’s wistful vocal. “I found a poem in a journal I wrote when I was 17,” Moreno says. “It fit a melody I had that I couldn’t find any words for. I don’t usually work that way, but it was a perfect fit.”

“Ave que Emigra,” was inspired partly by Gaby’s own experience migrating to the USA as well as the Arizona's anti-immigration stance. Its Latinized Bo Biddley beat supports a rocking, mostly acoustic performance, marked by tasty mandolin fills, Lowe’s syncopated bass line and Moreno’s playful vibrato. “Mean Old Circus” has an ominous feel, intensified by a dark arrangement that veers from a verse using calliope/oran, sinister accordions and Celeste to a sprightly ragtime chorus. Moreno gets in touch with her inner Aretha on “Sing Me Life,” one of the album’s most soulful tracks. The arrangement tips its hat to the ‘60s sound of Stax/Volt with Golding’s big Hammond B3, Greg Leisz’s tough distorted guitar and Moreno’s strong, dynamic vocal.

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Josh Nelson: LA Stories: Live at Sam First

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Josh Nelson's LA Stories: Live at Sam First was recorded in February 2022 at Sam First, which has quickly become the heartbeat of L.A.'s jazz community. With this album, Nelson continues a love letter to Los Angeles he began with his 2017 release, The Sky Remains, which was part of his Discovery Project multimedia series. In a city where history is too often forgotten, Nelson puts it center stage. In “Tiburcio," Nelson conjures the life of the 19th ...

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Gaby Moreno "Illustrated Songs"

Gaby Moreno "Illustrated Songs"

Source: Samuel Karr

This Guatemalan-Born/Los Angeles-based artist Is already a winner of the John Lennon Songwriting contest and has toured with Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, Nouvelle Vague and Van Dyke Parks. She Has Had Songs Featured On TV Shows Such as MTV's “The Hills," CBS' “The Ghost Whisperer" And Received An EMMY NOMINATION As Co-Composer of The Theme For NBC's “Parks & Recreation." Now, Gaby Moreno is Winning Strong Praise From NPR, iTunes, Rhapsody & Many More For Her Just Released Bilingual Album ...

Gaby Moreno’s soulful vocals and ability to switch languages and genres have made her a rising star.”

-NPR ��" All Things Considered

"The Guatemalan songwriter Gaby Moreno plucked ragtimey syncopations on a well-worn acoustic guitar, and let loose a tangy, bluesy voice with the feistiness of Édith Piaf."

-NY Times

"Moreno's breathtaking voice is passionate and stylistically malleable, as she glides back and forth easily between bossa nova and bluesy rock." -NPR - Tiny Desk Concerts

“Guatemalan singer/songwriter Gaby Moreno distilled inspiration from both Latin and African-American musical idioms from the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s and poured them into the 12-track album, Illustrated Songs. Burnished with the patina of this unique perspective, ‘Ave Que Emigra’ jangles with old-timey acoustic guitars, flickering hand-claps, and a Steinbeckian narrative about immigration."

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