To infiltrate the upper echelon of the Billboard
album charts with an ancient instrument while cross-pollinating musical genres
certainly has taken the imaginative vision and inspired creativity of a
trailblazing entrepreneur. On September 26, urban-jazz harpist Mariea
Antoinette will receive a Phenomenal Women in Entrepreneurship Award from the
National Council of Negro Women, the 49th annual community event in San Diego,
California at which she will perform. Tied to the honor, an enhanced version of
her sophomore album, “Straight from the Harp: Special Edition,” will be
released September 25 by MAH Productions featuring two bonus tracks and an
entirely new cover. One of the new cuts, “Walk the Walk,” a uniquely sprawling
hybrid of ethereal harp harmonies and impassioned soloing, EDM-hip hop beats,
gauzy rock guitar and dramatic violin underscoring from Karen Briggs, will be
serviced to radio as a single ahead of the bolstered collection’s issuance.
The Allan
Phillips-produced disc that peaked in the Billboard smooth jazz albums Top 5,
“Straight from the Harp,” connects with a balanced set list of soul-infused
originals and R&B classics. Showcasing Antoinette’s gorgeous, graceful and
sensual harp theatrics amidst downhome funk grooves, ebullient pop harmonies
and spacious jazz improvisations, the record was purposely crafted to fulfill
the artist’s mission to smash limiting preconceptions, banish borders and offer
adventurous new possibilities for her celestial stringed instrument.
“The concept
of ‘Straight from the Harp’ is to show people that the harp is not a quiet,
dreamy, boring instrument, but that it can be funky like you’ve never heard it
before. I wanted to take it to a new dimension, and I knew that (producer)
Allan (Phillips) would bring an exciting palette of rhythmic possibilities to
the table,” said Antoinette. “The CD has launched an exciting new phase in my
career, but I’ve had this in my spirit a long time. I loved playing beautiful classical
music, but my heart was telling me I’ve also got to do something different. I
wanted to play the music that I grew up with. I wanted to make the harp a funky
and sexy instrument. For those who have yet to discover ‘Straight from the
Harp,’ I hope new listeners will open their ears and their minds to the
‘Special Edition.’”
Tapping
Phillips, an Emmy-winning, two-time Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist from
Venezuela with an adventurous flair for surrounding lush melodies and
percussive rhythms with textured world music trappings, was a deliberate choice
for Antoinette. He penned four cuts for the genre-blurring session, including a
pair of tunes with emerging saxophonist Reggie Codrington, while Antoinette
composed a couple of stunning instrumental interludes.
The San
Diego-based Antoinette (yes, Mariea Antoinette is the name that appears on her
birth certificate) debuted with “Sexy Paradise” (2003) produced by fellow San
Diegan Carl Evans Jr. of the jazz fusion outfit Fattburger. Her striking
appearance and artfully elegant sound and technique has led to high-profile
gigs around the world such as performing for President Barak Obama and First
Lady Michelle Obama, backing Ne-Yo at the BET Awards and playing Grammy soirees
for Vanity Fair magazine and Mary J. Blige and Jamie Foxx. Antoinette and
Briggs have been collaborating since 2007 in the all-female ensemble Jazz in
Pink. Their organic synchronicity forged through years of live shows at premier
jazz festivals is clearly in evidence on “Walk the Walk.”
Songs
contained on “Straight from the Harp: Special Edition” are:
“Fly Away”
“Rock
Wit’cha”
“Special
Treasure”
“Give Me
Your Love”
“A Single
Dance”
“Spend Some
Time (With You)”
“Boogie
Nights”
“Journey”
“I’m Gonna
Love You (Just A Little More Baby)”
“Waiting In
Vain”
“Human”
“Straight
from the Harp”
“Walk the
Walk”
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