Lauren took a deep dive into Nancy Wilson's early catalogue and mined her own love letter to Wilson and the classic records she made with Cannonball Adderley and George Shearing that is singulary, soul stirring and exciting. She unearthed her own unique musical thinking on these adored performances partnering with longtime collaborators, Elliot Scheiner on the sound console and Andy Ezrin at the piano, rearranging and reimagining this set of music that was recorded over a two day session at Berklee College of Music's Shame's Family Scoring Stage on Feb 3rd and 4th, 2017. Earning a 4 1/2 star review from Downbeat magazine, A Sleepin' Bee made a tribute record still feel like an homage and intimate artistic statement wrapped up in one.
Set up to create a learning environment for students to observe the mastery of Elliot Scheiner at work and the incredible assembly of musicians, Lauren and Elliot created at once a Master Class and a Master Piece.
Partnering deeply with pianist Andy Ezrin, Lauren set out to mine these song with all the creative curiosity and invention she could discover, as a strict tribute could never replace Nancy's iconic performances. Instead, Lauren dove in, inverting, extending and deconstructing until she and Andy came up with statements that felt right and genuine. Building the early bones with the masterful Matt Wilson on drums and Ben Allison on Bass, the quartet workshopped the music to get it to a good place. The opportunity of Berklee's timeline and prior engagements of Matt and Ben didn't allow this quartet to go into the studio, but their loving mark is felt throughout. Calling on another past bandmate, Jared Schonig on drums and new friend Matt Penman on bass, the ensemble met up a day before the session to play through the set and find a sound. Special guest and old Berklee alumni pal Ingrid Jensen joined the quartet with her trumpet and powerful swagger on a few pieces.
The energy in the room was palpable, with students and teachers alike observing the proceedings. Space and time was made for Q&A's and the whole affair wrapped in two glorious days of recording.
Special thanks go out to Carl Beatty, Rob Jaczko, Mark Wessel and Dan Thompson for greenlighting and welcoming us to the extraordinary Berklee facilities. Thanks to the students that assisted, and to my Kickstarter family that helped fund this very special project, namely, my neice Lolly Allsop and my sister and brother in law, Christen and Mark Allsop, and Michael Spresser for so deeply supporting this endeavor.
Produced by Elliot Scheiner and Lauren Kinhan
Executive Producers, Christen and Mark Allsop and Michael Spresser
Associate Producer, Lauren Allsop
Recorded and Mixed by Elliot Scheiner
Mastered by Gavin Lurssen at Lurssen Mastering, LA, CA
Recorded on February 3 and 4, 2017 at the Shames Family Scoring Stage at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
All Arrangements by Lauren Kinhan and Andy Ezrin
Art Direction by Burton Yount
Cover Photo by Sandrine Lee
Interior Photos by Dan Thompson and Rob Jaczko
Student Assistants, Pedro Calloni, Andres Felipe Abello, Loren Dorland
Berklee Supervisor, Mark Wessel
Dotted i Records, 2017
Track Listing:
1. Let's Live Again
2. Guess Who I Saw Today
3. A Sleepin' Bee
4. (You Don't Know) How Glad I Am
5. Never Will I Marry
6. Save Your Love For Me
7. The Old Country/Passion Flower
8. Born to Be Blue
9. You Don't Know What Love Is
10. Happy Talk