About CAROL
About CAROL ALBERT Biography
In a genre where an artist’s success is generally measured by radio airplay spins and Billboard chart positions, pianist/composer Carol Albert’s recent Top 5 singles “Perfect Sunday” and “Stronger Now” – from her 2020 full length album Stronger Now - have crossed over to massive numbers in a metric usually touted by mainstream pop stars. Currently, “Perfect Sunday” has over 6.4M streams on Spotify and “Stronger Now” has over 2.1M. The album’s other radio hits include the Top 5 hit “Femme Flight,” which featured flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova and earned Carol a new legion of fans via extensive airplay on SiriusXM’s Watercolors.
Since establishing herself as smooth jazz mainstay in 2017, one of Carol’s unique trademarks has been writing and recording songs that both chronicle and express her own emotions and thoughtfully reflect upon the world around her. Her single “Paradigm Shift,” released in August 2022, powerfully captures the profound shift of consciousness that’s collectively taken hold of us in the wake of the pandemic. Continuing her collaborative flow with two time Grammy winning guitarist and mega hitmaker Paul Brown that started with five songs on Stronger Now, “Paradigm Shift” is a co-write by Carol, Brown and Shane Theriot. Brown produced the track and is featured on guitar. The track marks the first time she and Brown recorded together live in the studio, resulting in a remarkable musical conversation marked by exciting improvisations.
“Paradigm Shift” is one of the lead singles from Carol’s upcoming full length album, whose title Magic Mirror literally reflects the theme of self-reflection in this era of new awakenings. The collection will also include the artist’s most recent singles “Fire & Water” (which reached #4 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart) and “Crashing,” intended as a digital release for fans only.
Since venues started opening up after the pandemic lockdown, Carol has performed for audiences at many prominent events, including the Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival (California), Elkhart Jazz Festival (Indiana) and the Berks Jazz Fest (Pennsylvania). She also played in Austin TX for an offshoot event during South by Southwest.
Before breaking through to the greatest commercial success of her career with a high energy twist on the classic “Mas Que Nada” (from her Fly Away Butterfly album) in 2017, the classically trained pianist, composer and producer received an Emmy nomination for her acclaimed work composing for television and released a multitude of recordings whose vibes range from singer/songwriter to solo piano and new age.
While she could never have predicted it when she released her debut album Love in Your Eyes back in 1992, the well-traveled Atlanta based artist’s elegant, free flowing piano style and passion for R&B grooves and global rhythms is a perfect fit for the urban contemporary vibe at the foundation of today’s smooth jazz. Her other big radio hits include the Top 5 single “Fly Away Butterfly,” the Latin tinged Top Ten track “Sun’s Out,” “Chasing Waterfalls” and her first Billboard charting single “One Way.” “Sun’s Out” stayed on the chart for 23 weeks and hit #1 on the Recurrent Chart. The track also reached the pole position on the Mediabase Smooth AC, Radiowave and GrooveJazz charts and hit #2 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20.
Beyond the impressive chart stats, Carol has earned numerous accolades by a wide variety of prominent organizations in the music industry and beyond. Her 2019 and 2020 nominations for Artist of the Year by the Smooth Jazz Network (alongside genre luminaries like Dave Koz and Brian Culbertson) cap a dynamic roll over the past few years. These include an HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Award) nomination for Best Jazz Song (“Femme Flight”); designation as Georgia Composer of the Year by the National Women Pen's League Association in 2018; a nomination for Best New Artist 2017 by Smooth Jazz Network; and an HMMA Best Contemporary Instrumental nomination for “Transition”; and an Alkahest Award for her “Mas Que Nada” video in 2016.
In addition, her composition “Lovely Time for a Child” won a first place award in the Professional Jazz category from the Atlanta Songwriter’s Association, and she won in the New Age Category of the 2016 Global Peace Song Awards for “Dreamer,” a song from her 2015 album Christmas Mystique.
Over the years, Carol has served as a staff accompanist for the Georgia State University Music Department (her alma mater), Agnes Scott College and the Atlanta Ballet, and provided entertainment for trade shows, corporations, organizations and public venues. Years before playing smooth jazz-oriented music with her band at such U.S. venues and events as Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center, Las Vegas, Brass City Jazz Fest in Connecticut, Jazz in the Park in Birmingham, AL and City Winery and St. James Live in Atlanta, Carol performed regularly in Europe – including Germany, France, England, Ireland, Spain and a three month tour of Sweden. She also played on the Brittania Cruise Line out of France. Starting with her early pop/rock club dates out of college, Carol says she has “gigged basically every week of my life.”
“I feel fortunate to enjoy a musician’s lifestyle over the years while also being a wife and mom,” says Carol. “One of the things I’ve loved most about my success as a smooth jazz artist is the opportunity to make meaningful connections with the fans who tell me how much my music means to them. It’s been very rewarding to see how my music has resonated, and the radio airplay and appreciation from listeners are a wonderful confirmation that I’m on a strong creative path and achieving my goals on this very personal quest.
In a genre where an artist’s success is generally measured by radio airplay spins and Billboard chart positions, pianist/composer Carol Albert’s recent Top 5 singles “Perfect Sunday” and “Stronger Now” – from her 2020 full length album Stronger Now - have crossed over to massive numbers in a metric usually touted by mainstream pop stars. Currently, “Perfect Sunday” has over 6.4M streams on Spotify and “Stronger Now” has over 2.1M. The album’s other radio hits include the Top 5 hit “Femme Flight,” which featured flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova and earned Carol a new legion of fans via extensive airplay on SiriusXM’s Watercolors.
Since establishing herself as smooth jazz mainstay in 2017, one of Carol’s unique trademarks has been writing and recording songs that both chronicle and express her own emotions and thoughtfully reflect upon the world around her. Her single “Paradigm Shift,” released in August 2022, powerfully captures the profound shift of consciousness that’s collectively taken hold of us in the wake of the pandemic. Continuing her collaborative flow with two time Grammy winning guitarist and mega hitmaker Paul Brown that started with five songs on Stronger Now, “Paradigm Shift” is a co-write by Carol, Brown and Shane Theriot. Brown produced the track and is featured on guitar. The track marks the first time she and Brown recorded together live in the studio, resulting in a remarkable musical conversation marked by exciting improvisations.
“Paradigm Shift” is one of the lead singles from Carol’s upcoming full length album, whose title Magic Mirror literally reflects the theme of self-reflection in this era of new awakenings. The collection will also include the artist’s most recent singles “Fire & Water” (which reached #4 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart) and “Crashing,” intended as a digital release for fans only.
Since venues started opening up after the pandemic lockdown, Carol has performed for audiences at many prominent events, including the Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival (California), Elkhart Jazz Festival (Indiana) and the Berks Jazz Fest (Pennsylvania). She also played in Austin TX for an offshoot event during South by Southwest.
Before breaking through to the greatest commercial success of her career with a high energy twist on the classic “Mas Que Nada” (from her Fly Away Butterfly album) in 2017, the classically trained pianist, composer and producer received an Emmy nomination for her acclaimed work composing for television and released a multitude of recordings whose vibes range from singer/songwriter to solo piano and new age.
While she could never have predicted it when she released her debut album Love in Your Eyes back in 1992, the well-traveled Atlanta based artist’s elegant, free flowing piano style and passion for R&B grooves and global rhythms is a perfect fit for the urban contemporary vibe at the foundation of today’s smooth jazz. Her other big radio hits include the Top 5 single “Fly Away Butterfly,” the Latin tinged Top Ten track “Sun’s Out,” “Chasing Waterfalls” and her first Billboard charting single “One Way.” “Sun’s Out” stayed on the chart for 23 weeks and hit #1 on the Recurrent Chart. The track also reached the pole position on the Mediabase Smooth AC, Radiowave and GrooveJazz charts and hit #2 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20.
Beyond the impressive chart stats, Carol has earned numerous accolades by a wide variety of prominent organizations in the music industry and beyond. Her 2019 and 2020 nominations for Artist of the Year by the Smooth Jazz Network (alongside genre luminaries like Dave Koz and Brian Culbertson) cap a dynamic roll over the past few years. These include an HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Award) nomination for Best Jazz Song (“Femme Flight”); designation as Georgia Composer of the Year by the National Women Pen's League Association in 2018; a nomination for Best New Artist 2017 by Smooth Jazz Network; and an HMMA Best Contemporary Instrumental nomination for “Transition”; and an Alkahest Award for her “Mas Que Nada” video in 2016.
In addition, her composition “Lovely Time for a Child” won a first place award in the Professional Jazz category from the Atlanta Songwriter’s Association, and she won in the New Age Category of the 2016 Global Peace Song Awards for “Dreamer,” a song from her 2015 album Christmas Mystique.
Over the years, Carol has served as a staff accompanist for the Georgia State University Music Department (her alma mater), Agnes Scott College and the Atlanta Ballet, and provided entertainment for trade shows, corporations, organizations and public venues. Years before playing smooth jazz-oriented music with her band at such U.S. venues and events as Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center, Las Vegas, Brass City Jazz Fest in Connecticut, Jazz in the Park in Birmingham, AL and City Winery and St. James Live in Atlanta, Carol performed regularly in Europe – including Germany, France, England, Ireland, Spain and a three month tour of Sweden. She also played on the Brittania Cruise Line out of France. Starting with her early pop/rock club dates out of college, Carol says she has “gigged basically every week of my life.”
“I feel fortunate to enjoy a musician’s lifestyle over the years while also being a wife and mom,” says Carol. “One of the things I’ve loved most about my success as a smooth jazz artist is the opportunity to make meaningful connections with the fans who tell me how much my music means to them. It’s been very rewarding to see how my music has resonated, and the radio airplay and appreciation from listeners are a wonderful confirmation that I’m on a strong creative path and achieving my goals on this very personal quest.
