You're Nearer - Love Songs of the 30's and 40's by Lindsey Muir

Biography:

Music has always been a necessary element in Lindsey Muir's life as far back as the Connecticut singer can remember. With the release of her self produced debut album “You're Nearer: Love Songs of the '30s and '40s,” and her August festival debut at The Litchfield Jazz Festival, Lindsey is more than ready to be a prime time player in her own right. Lindsey projects the feeling that she's loved, lived with, and been deeply moved by the 11 songs on her album.

Her debut CD allows her to use her sweet voice to interpret great romantic ballads, with first-class backup from a jazz combo featuring the noted saxophonist and arranger Don Braden. Lindsey's other simpatico all-star sidekicks are: guitarist Mark Whitfield, pianist Dave Berkman, drummer Winard Harper and bassist John Benitez. Long before the idea for the album was even conceived, Benitez, a one-man cheering section, encouraged Lindsey to make a recording of her own. Lindsey also gets a little help from her friends, trumpeter Terell Stafford (dig his warm, muted solo on “Something Happens to Me”) and Brazilian drummer Rogerio Boccato, who adds Latin seasoning to a buoyant bossa rendition of “This Time the Dream's on Me.”

Part of the secret of her winning personal style is that she can sound sweet and innocent, yet somehow simultaneously sophisticated and emotional, as on the title tune, “You're Nearer,” a Rodgers & Hart song from the 1940 film version of “Too Many Girls.” Or she can project warmth and devotion on a classic romantic ballad like ”I Wish You Love.” For a change of pace, she can generate a fresh, rhythmic lilt that just won't wilt on “You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me,” an evergreen from the Broadway musical “42nd Street. “ Or she can serve a delicious slice of musical impressionism, as on her savory samba version of “My Ship.” Close your eyes and let your imagination sail on sunny, Caribbean waters. On classic love songs, like “My Foolish Heart” and her moving grand finale, “That's All,” you know that, much like a seasoned performer, she has lived with her material intimately, breathing-in the basic essence of the words until she can literally make them sound like her own.

Some vocalists who tackle the increasingly popular Great American Songbook sound unconnected to the sexy poetry or slippery wit in the words, as if they're reading the lyrics from a cue card. Not so with Lindsey who, from an initial pool of nearly 70 potential songs, diligently researched and lived with her material, winnowing the selection down to the final eleven. “I didn't settle on a song unless it absolutely spoke to me,” she says.

The inspiration for the album was the discovery of a song called “It Is Love You're After?” written by her late grandfather, Richard Bivona for her grandmother. She learned the song from her mother as her grandmother lay dying in 2003. After Victoria's death, the original sheet music for “It Is Love You're After?” emerged from her grandmothers record player. Her grandfather's love song became the catalyst for Lindsey's CD, which, of course, she dedicated to her late grandmother.

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