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SPIRITUALLY, EMOTIONALLY, MUSICALLY, THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT – CAROL ALBERT IS FEELING ‘STRONGER NOW’!  The Billboard Charting Pianist/Composer’s New Life-Affirming Album – Set to Drop January 31, 2020 – Features Production By Two-time Grammy Winner Paul Brown and Includes Her Top Ten Hits “Femme Flight” and “Sun’s Out” Embarking on a fresh new chapter in her life musically, emotionally and spiritually, Carol Albert builds upon the inspiring career-shifting momentum of her recent Billboard Top Ten chart successes with her perfectly titled new full-length album Stronger Now. Featuring all original songs written and arranged by the prolific composer and pianist, the stylistically eclectic, 10 track collection - follow up to her 2017 breakthrough album Fly Away Butterfly – is set for release on Cahara Records January 31, 2020. Stronger Now includes two tracks previously released as singles that lit up terrestrial, internet and satellite stations. The Atlanta based artist scored her biggest success to date early in 2019 with the Brazilian flavored “Femme Flight,” which hit #4 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart. Produced by Carol, mixed by two-time Grammy winning hitmaker Paul Brown and featuring flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova, the track also earned Albert a new legion of fans via airplay on SiriusXM’s Watercolors. Also featured on Stronger Now is Carol’s latest single “Sun’s Out,” a Latin tinged track produced and mixed by Brown that is currently in the Top Ten on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart as well as MediaBase, Smooth Jazz Top 20 at #5, Radiowave at #3 and GrooveJazz Chart at #2. Her earlier chart hits include “Chasing Waterfalls” (which reached #15), “Fly Away Butterfly” (#5) and “One Way.” Stronger Now is the first of Carol’s albums to predominantly feature production by Brown, who has scored over 60 #1 chart smashes for genre greats Peter White, Larry Carlton, Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Euge Groove, the late Al Jarreau and many others. In addition to the five tracks he produced (“Stronger Now,” “Love Again,” “Perfect Sunday,” “Sun’s Out,” “I Am Fine”), Carol helmed “For The Moment” (which features Brown on guitar), “Femme Flight” and “Moon on the Water” and co-produced (with Brown’s longtime associate Lew Laing) “Winter Rain” and “’Til We Meet Again.” Carol’s infectious piano melodies take wing with some of contemporary urban jazz’s top sidemen, including bassists Sam Sims, Roberto Vally and Joseph Patrick Moore and drummers L’il John Roberts, Gorden Campbell and Jay Williams. While most of the tracks were created digitally, with Carol recording in Atlanta and sending her foundational files to Brown at The Funky Joint in L.A. for him to build on, the songs featuring Sims and Roberts (“Love Again” and “Perfect Sunday”) were cut live in Atlanta. Key contributions were also made by Ben Babylon (string and French horn arrangements), Lee Thornburg (horn arrangements, flugelhorn and valve trombone) and acoustic guitarist Daniel Baraszu. Another point of interest: Carol recorded her parts on “Femme Flight,” “Love Again,” Perfect Sunday” and “Moon on the Water” on a venerable piano that Elton John and many other legendary artists have played at Silent Sound Studio in Atlanta. “I met Paul at a show he did in Atlanta through my friend, trumpeter Rob Zinn, and he said to give him a call when I started working on my new album,” Carol says. “He took his incredible ear and years of experience working with all kinds of artists to make incredible suggestions, oversee and put everything together, mix it to perfection and truly elevate my work. I’m so impressed with the quality of these musicians and the way all the elements came together. I’m very proud of Stronger Now and think it is the best work of my career.” From the title track to “Love Again,” from “For the Moment” to “I am Fine,” “Moon on the Water” and “’Til We Meet Again,” Stronger Now is thematically a reflection of the powerful emotional journey Carol has been on these past few years – and her ongoing resilience in the face of great loss. “My last album Fly Away Butterfly was written and recorded during a healing phase of my life after the sudden death of my husband,” she says. “This new chapter in my life has been about making it on my own. I am happy to note that one friend who heard ‘Femme Flight’ said, ‘I see your butterfly has morphed into another winged animal’ in free flight. During this period of my life, I have learned to experience joy, laughter, happiness and love, as well as many moods of solitude and introspection.”
 Carol Albert, a Paulding County native, is a force of majestic musical nature! Her music takes you on a vibrant journey. It speaks to you. Just listen. I heard it for the first time a few days ago and was captivated! Mostly instrumental, it could be described as a sublime consciousness – being brought into an awareness. Awareness of what, you ask? That’s up to you, the listener, because it’s just that soulfully poetic, without all the words. Her music is contemporary smooth jazz that is ALIVE! A magnificent composer, as well as an accomplished keyboardist and vocalist, her blending melodies take you to whatever dream world you want to be in – from floating on a cloud, or sailing the ocean, to sitting on a sun-drenched beach. Close your eyes and let Carol’s musical genius stimulate your emotions and thoughts, and be taken away. Inhale the spirit of the melodies in “Across the Sky”. One of my favorites , this one features her graceful and stunning voice that adds to the depth of this song. “Chasing Waterfalls” brings to mind the word “tranquility” because this song literally shows you a serene waterfall. You feel it, you see it, you smell it – it’s THAT alive, THAT profound!  Her latest single, “Sun’s Out” will give you a vision of an exotic beach with that perfect coastal breeze. Yes, I’ll have a Pina Colada!
She’s an amazing local talent gone world wide! Review by Jonathan Widran. Reposted with permission. Visit: www.JWVibe.com One of contemporary jazz’s true breakaway artists of 2018 with three consecutive Billboard charting hits, keyboardist/composer Carol Albert keeps the momentum flowing with her latest single “Femme Flight,” which was the #2 most added track on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart its first week out! A bright and high spirited, Brazilian-tinged celebration of creative freedom, the track features Carol on piano and wordless vocals in an ensemble featuring two of the genre’s most acclaimed emerging female artists, flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovankova from the chart-topping German band Threestyle. Produced, written and arranged by Carol and mixed by Paul Brown, the track features the dynamic rhythm section of Nathaniel Kearney (from Dave Koz’s touring band) and drummer Jay Williams (from Gerald Albright’s band).  Carol’s most recent chart success was “Chasing Waterfalls,” which stayed on the Billboard National Smooth Jazz Airplay chart and Smooth Jazz Songs chart for 10 weeks, peaking at #15. It also was #1 on Groove Jazz for two weeks, reached #4 on the Smooth Jazz Top 20 and also reached the Top 20 on the SmoothJazz.com chart. Her previous single, the title track to her album Fly Away Butterfly, stayed on the Billboard charts for 18 weeks, peaking at #5. The collection’s first single “One Way,” reached the Top 30 on the Billboard charts. “It’s been very rewarding to see how my new music has resonated with people, 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,” says Carol, whose multi-faceted career includes five albums dating back to the 90s, including the new age oriented releases Morning Music and Night Music. “The songs on Fly Away Butterfly represented a true healing phase in my life, and I am happy to note that one friend who heard ‘Femme Flight’ said, ‘I see your butterfly has morphed into another winged animal’ in free flight. It’s a song that reminds me of being free and having the strength to not only endure but to express that freedom and love of life to the fullest. I always envisioned the track as a female ensemble piece, and I’m delighted that I could showcase the talents of two incredible musicians in Ragan and Magdalena.” “Femme Flight” is the lead single for Carol’s currently in progress new full length album, due for release April 12.
 Permission to Repost: 1/3/2019 One of contemporary jazz’s true breakaway artists of 2018 with three consecutive Billboard charting hits, keyboardist/composer Carol Albert keeps the momentum flowing with her new single, Femme Flight.
A bright and high spirited, Brazilian-tinged celebration of creative freedom, the track features Carol on piano and wordless vocals in an ensemble featuring two of the genre’s most acclaimed emerging female artists, flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova. “Femme Flight” is produced, written and arranged by Carol Albert, and mixed by Paul Brown. “It’s been very rewarding to see how my new music has resonated with people, 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” – Carol Albert Listen to Femme Flight on Smooth Jazz Buzz (Playlist 22/3).  The soulful and infectious piano-driven tune, which eases from a sensual laid back opening into a lively, grooving and free-flowing jam is Written, Arranged and Performed by Carol and Co-produced by Carol with Producer/Keyboardist Trammell Starks. “Chasing Waterfalls” features the dynamic ensemble of saxophonist Sam Skelton, guitarist Chris Blackwell (whose spirited acoustic solo is a highlight), bassist Joseph Patrick Moore, drummer Wayne Viar and Brazilian percussionist Rafael Pereira. It was engineered, mixed and mastered by Starks.
The Single “Fly Away Butterfly” from the Album entered 2018 with the envied Top 5 Billboard Smooth Jazz Chart Position and remained on Billboard for 18 weeks. Other Charts include Smooth Jazz Top 20 at #2, Groove Jazz Chart at #1 for 3 weeks, RadioWave Monitor at #1 Position for 3 weeks, MediaBase, and SmoothJazz.com. The Single “One Way” from the Album was Carol's Debut Billboard Entry at #29 and Charted on all major Smooth Jazz Charts in 2017. Carol Albert’s release “Mas Que Nada” from “Fly Away Butterfly” hit Smooth Jazz Radio with a welcome reception from audiences across the globe and was embraced by SiriusXM Watercolors and other major Radio stations. “Mas Que Nada” hit all the Smooth Jazz Charts with enviable charting positions and remained on Smooth Jazz Charts for six months after release. "While Carol has made her mark in numerous musical worlds throughout her multi-faceted career – from the educational realm to new age to TV theme composing – she has rapidly found a niche as an insightful, globally conscious groove and melody-centric contemporary jazz pianist and composer. While not featuring vocals as some of her previous songs have, her latest single, the wistful and spirited “Chasing Waterfalls” captures the essence of the way we go after dreams in a life of challenges, and the way we rise when the world conspires to make us fall. Its movement from contemplative, easily rhythmic verses to explosive, free-spirited choruses reflects the dynamic ebb and flow of life itself – from uncertainty and “testing the water” to full immersion on the path to achieving goals that make life worthwhile. Like her previous single Fly Away Butterfly” it’s a heartfelt song that’s perfect for this moment in time – and another exciting Single from her best full length album yet in “Fly Away Butterfly”. – Jonathan Widran, Music Connection and Jazziz Magazine. |
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