Get the Flash Player to see this clip.
The video footage is from the ClassiKhan CD that was made in 2004. I got the call from Chaka and her camp that they needed a 12 to 13 song standards Album done and ready to press by Sept 1st...The only thing was that it was already June 1st ......mmmmmmm....OK..
So I was freaking out a little. She wanted to record it with the London Symphony.....mmmmmm.....I was freaking out a little more...ya know. Cold sweats, minor heart palpitations and then some. Oh Well!!!
She had been my idol along with Arif Mardin most of my Adult years. So................ I began looking at her song list and carefully started to dissect these great songs. There is nothing worse then ruining a great Standard. So I called Chaka and asked her to try and describe to me what she wanted. She said:
"I want these tunes to Exude PURPLE".
I said, ummmmmmmm, PURPLE?
And she said
"Yes, Purple....and I want every song to have a fabulous modulation."
So my summer journey began of holing up in East Hampton at the piano to try and attempt to make arrangements that were larger than life, as she is as an artist.
Needless to say, I gained 15lbs living on DELIVERY, didn't go swimming once, hardly saw any friends, and enjoyed every second of it. I had sunk into the abyss of Chaka's voice in my head and marrying that to the lush melodic layers of these great melodies all the while, MAKING IT PURPLE.
OK, please watch one of the greatest singers of our time, and the greatest Symphony Orchestra in this Universe. I only hope everyone gets to feel, at some juncture in their lifetime, what I felt in the Summer of 2004......MUSICAL BLISS.
Enjoy!
The audio clips are from studio sessions with Chaka and the London Symphony at Abby Road and Sony Studios in London. Produced, Arranged, and Conducted by Eve Nelson.