Debut
album, “Longing,” from the vocalist who found refuge in song after running from
Communism and a heartbreaking marriage, will be released March 25.
As a child, Anna Danes escaped Communist
Poland and as an adult, she found the strength to move on from an unhappy
marriage. Both times, she found solace by singing. Love songs in particular
soothed her dampened spirit while she idyllically longed for freedom and
romance. Lacking support and encouragement for her artistic pursuits, Danes,
armed with the Great American Songbook, found empowerment in a San Diego-area
recording studio where she worked with producer Larry B. White, three-time
Grammy-winning engineer-mixer Steve Churchyard and an ensemble of noted session
players to record “Longing,” her debut album that will be released March 25 on
DLG Recordings.
In the
late 1970s, Danes fled Poland with her parents. After being turned away by
Sweden, they immigrated to Ottawa, Canada where the young girl suddenly forced
to learn English felt alone and isolated. She sang in a Polish church and it
brought a sense of comfort and belonging. Flash forward: after giving up a
successful law practice to move to California to be with her future husband,
Danes found herself in a marriage that had lost its shine and stifled her
creative endeavors. As her self-confidence began to wane, she rediscovered
singing and started to come alive. The recording project was liberating and a
life-altering experience, but in order to fully embrace the freedom she found
in song, she had to dissolve the relationship for good. Perhaps the most
emotionally-charged performance on “Longing” appears on the disc’s closing
number, “I Wish You Love.” While recording the poignant farewell, tears
streamed down Danes’ face as she sang, symbolically saying goodbye while
wishing her now ex-husband love.
“Recording
the album was monumental for my re-birth. I was so lost, living in a lonely
marriage where ‘something was missing,’ but I am back now thanks to the music.
Singing revived me and brought hope back into my heart,” said Danes, whose
classic vocal timbre possesses warmth, fullness, familiarity and charm
delivered in an easy manner with conversational phrasing. “I chose each and
every song (for the album) that fit my style and voice, but subconsciously they
show that I was missing love. I was ‘lost and lonely’ like (Antonio Carlos)
Jobim says in ‘Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars Corcovado,’ which I recorded for the
album.”
“Longing”
showcases Danes in lush acoustic vocal jazz settings surrounded by White’s
piano, upright bass (Bob Magnusson and Rob Thorsen), horns (John Rekevics and
Scott Hecker), guitar (Mark Chosak), drums (Kevin Koch), percussion (Monette
Marino) and the Heart Strings Quartet.
White freshly arranged ten standards including Jobim’s “Meditation,”
Cole Porter’s “It’s All Right With Me,” Edith Piaf’s “La Vie En Rose,” Ray
Noble’s “The Very Thought of You” and more modern material such as George
Harrison’s “Something” and Charles Fox & Norman Gimbel’s “Killing Me
Softly.” The session includes a pair of originals, “Sweet Valentine” and “The
Sun Won’t Shine Today,” composed by White with lyrics by Margaret White.
With the
sad days behind her, a radiant Danes appears glowingly on the cover of
“Longing” gazing out at sea with a slight smile on her face. She is excited
about the future again and what it may have in store. Living in North San Diego
County with her young daughter, Danes exudes enthusiasm when discussing her
unexpected new career as a jazz singer. She plans to continue singing - both on
record and performing live – while keeping her heart open for love. For more
information, please visit www.AnnaDanes.com.
Danes’
“Longing” contains the following songs:
“Splendor
in the Grass”
“Meditation”
“Something”
“Sweet
Valentine”
“Killing
Me Softly”
“The Sun
Won’t Shine Today”
“The
Very Thought of You”
“La Vie
En Rose”
“Quiet
Nights of Quiet Stars Corcovado”
“It’s
All Right With Me”
“Dream A
Little Dream of Me”
“I Wish
You Love”
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