Carol appears in the Smooth Jazz Magazine "Beats". Click this link and support Beats c/o Smooth Jazz Network!

Carol Albert’s new single “Fire & Water” is moving into POWER rotation on the SJN this week, so we thought we’d grab a few moments with Carol to see how things are going so far in 2022. ​

Your latest single “Fire & Water” debuts on the SMOOTH JAZZ TOP 20 this weekend! Congratulations on another hit tune. Tell us about the genesis of this track, co-written with Roberto Vally. I met Roberto a few years ago when he played on my last Album “Stronger Now” at Paul Brown’s Studio. We worked on a writing project for my new Album last spring remotely sending tracks back and forth. At the completion of that track we decided to work on another song with a little Brazilian flavor and “Fire & Water” was hatched out of the collaboration. ​

And the title?
I originally named the song “Firewater” because it’s the 1st thing that came to my mind. It evolved into “Fire & Water” which described the mixed sections from the smooth flowing beginning to the fiery passionate drum section and mixing these two elements on the track for an exotic vibe. ​

And Andrew Neu on sax?
Originally I wanted the Flute on this track. Roberto has a long-standing working history with Andrew and recommended him to add the Flute. We sent the track and asked him also to add Saxophone along with the Flute. The Saxophone sounded so great with Andrew playing it we decided to go with the awesome Saxophone performance he gave.

The art for the single is a striking combination of fire and water forming the shape of a heart. How did you come up with the graphic?
I wanted to combine the elements of Fire & Water in a graphic and I thought the shape of a heart with Fire & Water depicted the spirit of the composition. The combination of the two created a very vivid graphic on a black background.

“Fire & Water” was debuted at the Jazz Trax Festival in Catalina late last year. How was it to play that venue? It was a dream come true for me. I loved everything about Catalina Jazz Trax Festival including being able to debut the new Single “Fire & Water” with the players Roberto Vally and Andrew Neu that performed on the recording. It was well received which brought tears to my eyes. ​

Must have felt nice to be performing live again…
It’s always great to play live and to be able to perform with incredible musicians. I’ve missed performing during this Covid time even though I did perform at Elkhart jazz Festival in June, a special event on July 4, Woodward Park Jazz series in Atlanta. There’s no substitute for interacting with a live audience and the immediate feedback you get. I had some avid fans at the show as well which made it really fun.

What’s on tap for you in 2022?
I’m working on completing my new Album to be released in 2022. I have some other projects I’m working on. I will be performing at the Berks Jazz Fest April 7, In Pennsylvania May 1, other dates also to be announced. ​

Carol Albert recently appeared on the podcast - “Buzz, Words and Music”. You can listen to the Podcast on Spotify or listen directly below.

Carol will be interviewed by former Curtis Mayfield Music Director/Producer - Buzz Amato. Tune in to Buzz's Twitch channel to watch the interview live this Thursday at 8:00 PM EST. Click Here to access Buzz's Twitch

Carol recently performed at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in June and a private event in Birmingham, AL on July 4th. To help celebrate the return of live music, Smooth Jazz Magazine recently featured Carol in their magazine (July/August 2021 edition). Help support Smooth Jazz Magazine by clicking this link.