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The Gershwin Project
Billy Paul Williams and Friends |
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| CD: KRI-CD-3029 |
| Release Date: 10/18/2005 |
| Price: $12.98 |
What do Sting, Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, Rod Stewart, Queen Latifah and Tony Bennett have in common? They all have recorded songs written by George Gershwin. George Gershwin was a 20th century musical giant who conquered Broadway, Hollywood, Carnegie Hall and the Billboard charts with his music. His universally recognized melodies are timeless and have been recorded innumerable times over the decades.
“The Gershwin Project” is the first truly original interpretation of the Gershwin ouerve in recent memory. Some of his biggest hits and most familiar tunes have been turned inside out, upside down and chilled in the process by a variety of artists from around the globe. Starting off with BR6, a six member acappella group from Rio De Janeiro, performing “Summertime (Pleno Verao)” in Portuguese through tracks by Billy Paul Williams (South Beach), Dalminjo (Sweden) and a very special appearance by the Spam All-Stars on the Gershwin classic “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”.
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The Porter Project
Billy Paul Williams and Friends |
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| CD: KRI-CD-3022 |
| Release Date: 3/23/2004 |
| Price: $12.98 |
Songwriter and musical icon Cole Porter represents the gold standard of 20th century American popular music. Through the years Porter's songs have been the basis for thousands of recordings by a virtual who's who in the entertainment industry. Artists as diverse as Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Annie Lennox, Tom Waits, Elvis Presley, the Fine Young Cannibals, Rosemary Clooney, David Byrne, Sinead O'Connor, Miles Davis, K.D. Lang and Iggy Pop have all interpreted selections from the Cole Porter songbook.
However, there has never been an album of Porter music like this one. On "The Porter Project", Porter's standards have been "sliced and diced" into something completely different. Each recording faithfully retains the spirit of the Cole Porter original and yet transforms the song into a totally new listening experience. Chillout, downtempo, drum and bass, reggae and nu jazz influences redefine the Porter classics in an amalgam of sounds. Vocals by singers Nicole Henry, Lauren Carter, Charlotte McKinnon, John Williams and Billy Paul Williams add to the contemporary feel.
Produced almost entirely by Billy Paul Williams with some help from Charles Afton, this release will definitely surprise you! |
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Miles To Go
Billy Paul Williams |
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| CD: KRI-CD-3008 |
| Release Date: 6/10/2003 |
| Price: $12.98 |
Billy Paul Williams is hard to categorize."Miles To Go", his debut album on Kriztal is a testament to the many influences that have shaped his music over the years.
Miles To Go features tasty vocal accents, intricate jazz harmonies and a riot of rhythms that reach from the Caribbean-African diaspora to sweaty South Beach clubs. The seductive, hypnotic music that results will easily appeal to fans already familiar with Kriztal's unique, genre-busting sound, but it will also reach a wider audience as it embraces deliciously eclectic influences such as Herbie Hancock, The Ohio Players, Miles Davis and Billy Preston. But it is Williams' own well-defined voice and emerging signature sound that speaks loudest here, a combination of complex rhythmic themes that lace his sweet, yet edgy compositions.
All 13 tracks on Miles To Go possess great groove, but closer listening reveals a wealth of unexpected ear candy accents such as the kalimba (African thumb piano) on "Nothing To Lose", Bobby McFerrin-inspired wordless vocable scatting on "Winter Heat", the subtle homage to a 70's television show theme on "Desert Moon" or the Donna Summer-ish sweet soul vocals by Charlotte McKinnon on "So In Love".
If you want to stretch your ears beyond the normal chillout drone, treat yourself to "Miles To Go".
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