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Jazz singer to unveil new CD
2007-11-14 12:28:54.000
The sound of a small brass section has always captivated singer Lori Cullen.
The inspiration for the 33-year-old Mississauga native’s fifth CD, Buttercup Bugle, lies in that fascination.
"I was inspired to do this when I went to a Canadian Brass Christmas concert," said Cullen from Toronto, where she now lives. "I was hooked after the second song. I wanted to do a record with that kind of buttery, softer, brass sound."
It turns out that some of the arrangements she was hearing were done by Chris Dedrick, the vocalist and horn player who made his reputation with the New York-based '60s and '70s band, The Free Design.
Dedrick turned up at the Montreal Bistro launch of Cullen’s last CD, the Juno-nominated Calling For Rain, and the singer took advantage of the opportunity to ask Dedrick if he wanted to work with her.
They co-produced Buttercup Bugle. Cullen wrote the pop-oriented songs and she and a five-piece group did the basic tracks, leaving room for Dedrick to insert the brass arrangements, by the very experienced and very talented True North Brass Quintet.
"When we recorded it, I had not even heard the horn parts," said Cullen, a Sheridan College graduate.
When she finally heard the results, "I couldn't stop smiling. At one point, I had my feet up in the air screaming."
Of course, re-producing that sound on stage is a challenging, and expensive, proposition.
Mississauga and GTA residents will likely get their only chance to hear the full effect this Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Hugh's Room in Toronto when the CD is officially released. Cullen is a longtime Hugh's Room favourite.
Buttercup Bugle contains "lots of lyrics full of optimism and love," said Cullen. It easily could have been called I Found Love, after the Dedrick number that seems like its thematic core. Cullen's personal relationship with Kurt Swinghammer, the guitarist and synth player who also did the cover art of a stylized Cullen rising from the mouth of a horn, infects the whole project with a special glow.
"I intentionally didn't write a love song for the first 10 years I was composing," laughed Cullen. "But love is hugely important, and it's everywhere."
jstewart@mississauga.net
The inspiration for the 33-year-old Mississauga native’s fifth CD, Buttercup Bugle, lies in that fascination.
"I was inspired to do this when I went to a Canadian Brass Christmas concert," said Cullen from Toronto, where she now lives. "I was hooked after the second song. I wanted to do a record with that kind of buttery, softer, brass sound."
It turns out that some of the arrangements she was hearing were done by Chris Dedrick, the vocalist and horn player who made his reputation with the New York-based '60s and '70s band, The Free Design.
Dedrick turned up at the Montreal Bistro launch of Cullen’s last CD, the Juno-nominated Calling For Rain, and the singer took advantage of the opportunity to ask Dedrick if he wanted to work with her.
They co-produced Buttercup Bugle. Cullen wrote the pop-oriented songs and she and a five-piece group did the basic tracks, leaving room for Dedrick to insert the brass arrangements, by the very experienced and very talented True North Brass Quintet.
"When we recorded it, I had not even heard the horn parts," said Cullen, a Sheridan College graduate.
When she finally heard the results, "I couldn't stop smiling. At one point, I had my feet up in the air screaming."
Of course, re-producing that sound on stage is a challenging, and expensive, proposition.
Mississauga and GTA residents will likely get their only chance to hear the full effect this Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Hugh's Room in Toronto when the CD is officially released. Cullen is a longtime Hugh's Room favourite.
Buttercup Bugle contains "lots of lyrics full of optimism and love," said Cullen. It easily could have been called I Found Love, after the Dedrick number that seems like its thematic core. Cullen's personal relationship with Kurt Swinghammer, the guitarist and synth player who also did the cover art of a stylized Cullen rising from the mouth of a horn, infects the whole project with a special glow.
"I intentionally didn't write a love song for the first 10 years I was composing," laughed Cullen. "But love is hugely important, and it's everywhere."
jstewart@mississauga.net